Will we let MPs shortchange us again?

A few Kenyans gasped in astonishment at the news of a Cabinet reshuffle last week. You see, most of those nominated are Kenyans of impeccable character, career corporate titans who when given the opportunity, will get things moving in the labyrinthine civil service.

But whereas the reshuffle was a well-intentioned move by the President to calibrate his development agenda, it beggars the question; what happened with the first lot of nominees?

Self-relection, I read somwhere is engaging in serious thought about one’s action and motive. I bet the President did that. In the new Constitution, the responsibility of populating top positions in the Executive and the Judiciary is shared between the National Assembly and the President. The President nominates and the Members of Parliament approve after vetting. The expectation is that any State officer nominated should be competent and must not have any lingering integrity issues.

Like Caesar’s wife, they should be above reproach. Yet that is not all that matter. I think there is more than having a guy who will not pick the country’s purse. My Christian friends like quoting a parable in the Bible about the talents. The rich man gave his servants talents and left for a safari.

The one who was given five talents went and traded them and made five more. The one who got one talent dug it on the ground. When the rich man returned, he fired the one who hid his talent. Well, there are many interpretations of this proverb. So much has been said about former President Mwai Kibaki. One of them is that his Cabinet got things working, pretty quickly. And he was thus able to do a lot more in the first three years of his term than in all the 10 years.

One thing for sure is that Mr Kibaki surrounded himself with experienced, passionate, driven people in his Cabinet. Kijana Wamalwa, John Michuki, Mukhisa Kituyi, Anyang Nyongo, Martha Karua, Francis Muthaura and Raila Odinga, were not only experienced, but had the guts, I am told, to even tell the President the unpalatable truth and most of all, they knew their stuff.

Fast forward to 2015; it has looked at times as if Mr Kenyatta is grappling with issues which could easily be handled by his Cabinet Secretaries. It could be that the Kibaki Cabinet was made of politicians with eyes on more else in the future, but at least things worked.

Could be also that ministers then had more freedom to pass policies that assisted the president in governing. Of course, the 2010 Constitution limits the powers of the Cabinet Secretaries in the sense that they are no longer elected politicians so they fear losing their jobs if they outshine their boss.

I guess it would work better if the CS realised that it is better for things to work because when they don’t, they sink with the President. Mr Michuki’s unprecedented move to tame the matatu menace has outlived him. He didn’t stop there, he significantly improved the job output at the environment docket. No doubt, Mr Michuki was his own man.

In my assessment, Amina Mohamed and Anne Waiguru are probably among the only few that have shown the passion for their job. Unfortunately, Ms Waiguru has had to leave.

With due respect to former Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku, the man who replaced him at the Interior ministry seems to be doing a better job than he did. At least to me. There is something about the retired army general that makes you believe in him somehow. The trick is you can’t lay your hands on “this thing” that Joseph Nkaissery has that Mr Lenku lacked.

So whereas vetting of State officers institutionalises democratic values and principles of governance like accountability and strengthens Parliament’s oversight role by providing a means of checks and balance that is critical for accountability, it doesn’t judge whether a man or woman seated there in full glare of the cameras, can deliver the job.

Put it simply, those holding such powerful positions other than fulfilling all that is contained in Chapter 6 of the Constitution, ought to demonstrate passion, drive, commitment and focus. But to think that the MPs will, on their own, get us those who can get the job done is to delude ourselves.

That is why there is a role for the public in the vetting process. So get down and present memorandum to the Clerk of the National Assembly on why XYZ should not be confirmed to the position of Cabinet Secretary.

To fail to do that is be complicit in the non-deliverance of service to the public.

Come on, the citizenry should do what the MPs failed to do the last time.