National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has said the exercise to seek a suitable successor for Boinnet is among the long list of items that the House will give priority when they begin to conduct business/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 31 – The National Assembly resumes its sittings in two weeks’ time from a long Christmas break with a full in tray, including overseeing the process of seeking a replacement for the Inspector General Police Joseph Boinnet whose four-year non-renewable term comes to an end in March.
Speaking to Capital FM News, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has said the exercise to seek a suitable successor for Boinnet is among the long list of items that the House will give priority when they begin to conduct business.
He has said once Parliament receives the names of successfully applicants of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) interviewed by a select panel appointed by the President and later whose names will be forwarded to the Head of State then back to Parliament, the House will then vet and consider the members for approval or rejection.
According to the Garissa Township lawmaker, soon after the body is fully constituted, the members through its chair will then call for suitable members to apply for the position of the police top job upon which the commission will submit the name of the preferred candidate to the President who would also in turn send it back to Parliament for consideration.
“We will sit and approve the men and women who will sit in the commission as we look to find a suitable individual who would be the next Inspector General for the next four years,” he said.
Already, the select panel has interviewed a host of individuals for the chairmanship position in the commission notably the former Speaker Kenneth Marende who is keen to succeed former chairman Johnston Kavuludi who served the commission for six years.
Boinnet, who has a background in the intelligence service, was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2014 after he was unanimously approved by Parliament to replace his former predecessor David Kimaiyo.
Other agenda on the priority list, Duale said that the House will focus its energies on ensuring the passage of the Two Thirds Gender Bill that was deferred last year in November due to quorum hitches.
Duale who is the mover of the Bill said the House will immediately start the debate on the Bill that has proved to be problematic in gaining enough support from the MPs.
“I will promptly present the agenda to the House Business Committee once it’s sits on February 13 ion a bid to fast track the vote on the Bill,” he said.
He exuded confidence that enough lobbying has been done so far noting that with the numbers held by the Jubilee Party, its passage would be a smooth sail.
“Once we know when the vote will take place, then parliamentary group meetings for both Jubilee and NASA coalitions will meet so that we see whether we can achieve the required threshold in terms of numbers when the question is put,” he said.
House Speaker Justin Muturi postponed the vote on the Bill last year through the request of Duale after the House failed to get the requisite 233 members required to vote in support of the Bill.
For the Bill to sail through, a total of 233 out of the 349 MPs in the National Assembly are expected to give it a nod for its to pass.
Once the Bill gets the green light on the floor of the House, the House Business Committee chaired by Muturi will put it for consideration in the Committee of the whole House and third reading, which will be undertaken at later sittings.
The National Assembly currently has 76 women leaders out of which 23 were elected, 47-woman representatives and six who were nominated.
In the Senate there are 21 women, 19 of whom are nominated and three elected.
The budget making process is another business that Duale said the House will focus on as it readies to prepare the 2019/2020 budget.
On the political scene, Duale reiterated that the appointment of Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi as the head of government projects should not be misconstrued to mean that there is conflict of delivery of mandate between him and the Deputy President William Ruto insisting that those fueling the contrary statements hold “pedestrian arguments”.
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