Economy

House chiefs seek Ababu ouster through law change

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Majority leader Aden Duale when he appeared before Parliament’s Powers and Privileges Committee on March 18, 2015. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI

The fate of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Ababu Namwamba and 29 members hangs in the balance after the leadership of the two main coalition parties in the National Assembly recommended the reconstitution of the committee following corruption claims involving its members.

Majority leader Aden Duale and deputy minority leader Jakoyo Midiwo separately asked the Powers and Privileges Committee to recommend that the chairmanship of the top watchdog committee be reserved for the leader of minority.

This, they argued is the practice in all Commonwealth Parliaments and that it would shield the chairmanship of PAC from motions of impeachment.

Francis Nyenze is current leader of minority. The two leaders told the committee chaired by Kuresoi North MP Moses Cheboi that Standing Orders need to be amended to ensure that PAC, which has been traditionally chaired by the leader of the official opposition be headed by the minority leader in Parliament.

“I will remind this committee that from the 1970s up to 2008, PAC was a sessional committee. Further, from 1992 to 2008, the chairing of PAC was reserved for the leader of official opposition.

“This old practice was probably informed by …the need to give it a solid holder whose tenure is not threatened by constant collection of signatures. I still hold that we need to designate the leader of minority party to be the automatic chairperson of PAC,” MrDuale said.

Currently, the main political parties have the powers to review the membership of parliamentary committees. The chairs of the committees are picked by the members.

PAC has been dogged by infighting over the fate of several of its investigative reports, with claims of bribery and extortion to alter or misplace key documents.

READ: Ababu Namwamba says life in danger over graft exposé

Mr Namwamba, who narrowly survived a vote to oust him, has blamed his woes on Defence principal secretary Mutea Iringo and investigations into the Sh2 billion judiciary expenditure as well as procurement of the “Hustler Jet”.

Mr Iringo’s name has featured prominently in the bribery claims facing PAC following investigations into the Sh2.8 billion controversial expenditure by the Office of the President.

On Wednesday, Mr Duale and Mr Midiwo said as currently constituted, PAC members cannot work together in light of counter accusations of corruption.

“I doubt that they can still work together following these accusations and counter-accusations. Should this committee finds it, the committee on selection should reconstitute PAC afresh,” Duale said.

The Powers and Privileges Committee was given 21 days to investigate the bribery claims against PAC members.

Mr Duale proposed amendments to the law to expand the role of the Powers and Privileges Committee to include examination of claims of financial nature on MPs within and outside the precincts of the House.

“The claims must however be related to the work of MPs in Parliament and not our private life. I suggest the name to be the Committee on Standards, Ethics and Privilege,” he said.

Mr Duale said the House would succeed in having an internal mechanism of stemming corruption claims and in redeeming the image of the House like the United Kingdom did in 2009 during the mileage claims scandal.

He also proposed the creation of the office of the Administrator of Parliamentary Standards within Parliament who will be appointed with the approval of the National Assembly and the Senate to advise both Houses and their respective committees of privileges on matters of breach of code of conduct and cases of financial impropriety.

Mr Nyenze was also expected to testify before the team on Wednesday evening.