Kenya: House Teams' Leadership Comes Under Scrutiny - AllAfrica.com

Mwaura Kimani

As mononuclear phagocyte system lobbied to head cardinal parliamentary squads early this week, inquiries over the credibleness of some contestants have got got brought the public presentation of the commissions into crisp focus.

The squads have suffered loss of public assurance in the past, the most noteworthy beingness when Populace Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, admitted to having received Sh2 million from controversial man of affairs Kamlesh Pattni.

Mr Pattni - who now names himself Alice Paul after converting to Christian Religion - was also at the Centre of another incident when then political action commission chair, the late Kijana Wamalwa, recommended to Parliament that the authorities actually owed Pattni money, causing a furore.

It is with this in head that the public have increased phone calls that mononuclear phagocyte system mentioned adversely in former political action committee and Populace Investments Committee (PIC) studies be barred from chairing them.

Analysts said that as guard dogs working on behalf of taxpayers, political action committee and movie are expected to be above reproach and the members should be people of high moral standing in society.

But neither the Standing Orders nor the country's Fundamental Law state clearly who should inhabit the offices, leaving committee members to take their chair. The House Business Committee picks mononuclear phagocyte system from different political political parties as members of the committees.

Lobbying for places on the commissions is informed by the fact that they offer mononuclear phagocyte system the chance to act upon the form of projected statute law before they are tabled before the House. mononuclear phagocyte system gain immense allowances for attending commission meetings in improver to their regular wage of Sh850,000 per month.

On Tuesday, mononuclear phagocyte system picked Ikolomani military policeman Bonny Khalwale as president of PAC, while Igembe South military policeman Mithika Linturi was elected to head PIC. Political analysts said alterations should be made on Standing Orders to guarantee that lone people of unity are picked as members of the committees, especially the chairmen.

"These are people expected to veterinarian populace procurance and procedures and undertake corruptness cases, thus their unity is most crucial," said Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus Barasa, a political analyst at the Institute of Populace Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), a policy think-tank.

"Otherwise, the commissions would gradually lose public assurance despite their much needful function in a democracy to check up on up on on the surpluses of the Executive," said Mister Barasa.

While the new political dispensation arising from the formation of the alliance authorities left the House with no functionary Leader of the Resistance and baffled the rank of committees, in the Ninth Parliament - as tradition in Commonwealth states orders - the squads were chaired by resistance MPs.

The principle behind this agreement was that being in the opposition, the chairmen of the commissions would check the surpluses of Government and uncover these to the public.

During the Ninth Parliament, respective high profile dirts were exposed, including the multi-billion shilling Anglo Leasing scandal, the Postal Corporation VSAT deal, the irregular importing of refined sugar and machinations over the ownership of Safaricom.

However, mononuclear phagocyte system have got in the past complained that recommendations made by the commissions were never acted upon and that it took old age to scrutinize Government books, rendering the committees' work merely academic.

In 2004, political action committee prepared a particular audited account study on the Anglo Leasing type of dirts that included the tamper-proof passports deal, the forensic research lab for the CID, assorted security and communicating projects. The study implicated some Cabinet curates in the scandals, but the Government marshalled support in the House to reject it.

In 2006, Uhuru Kenyatta led commission members to the United Kingdom to interview former Ethical Motive and Administration lasting secretary Toilet Githongo followers new disclosures on Anglo Leasing. As a consequence of the investigations, Cabinet curate Kiraitu Murungi was relieved of his duties while his colleague, Saint David Mwiraria, stepped aside to pave manner for investigations.

The two were later re-appointed to the Cabinet.The committee's report, which was debated in the House, recommended that the Republic Of Republic Of Kenya Anti-Corruption Committee should take action against curates involved in the scandal.

But in footing of checking the usage of taxation payers' funds, movie was more than active, questioning a figure of transactions.The commission inquired into the controversial ownership of Safaricom, the implosion therapy of the local marketplace with imported refined sugar from the Common Market for Eastern and South Africa (Comesa) and lawsuits of illegal land allocation.

PIC also questioned an audited account study on the fiscal statement of Kenya Reinsurance Corporation, among other cases.Among the issues raised by movie involved the managers of Mobitelea, the minutes that led to the 60-40 per cent share ownership of Safaricom and the alleged transportation of five per cent of Telkom shares in Safaricom to Mobitelea Ventures.

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In its report, movie urged the Republic Of Republic Of Republic Of Kenya Anti Corruptness Committee to look into the fortune under which the shares were transferred to Mobitelea under the Kanu administration.

The other focusing of probe was Kenya Re's audited account study for the twelvemonth 2005, which had been given a clean measure of wellness by a private audited account firm, KPMG.The committee's study revealed that Kenya Rhenium would have got lost Sh88 million in the sale of houses in Meru, Kisumu (Migosi), Eldoret (Kapsoya estate) and Mombasa (Nyali).

Towards the end of the Ninth Parliament, political relation affected the work of these commissions after Mister Kenyatta decided to back up President Kibaki's re-election.