National interests should guide Parliament in vetting nominees

A past ambassadorial nominee vetting in Parliament. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

New ambassadorial nominees are set to be vetted by parliament. These include Kariuki Mugwe, Peter Katana Ngore, Michael Mubea, Flora Karugu, Mwende Mwinzi, Diana Kiambuthi and Njambi Kinyungu.

Parliament’s approval, in keeping with the law, is necessary before the nominees are given a clean bill of health and sent to their new duty stations. Yet prior to parliamentary vetting, public views on the nominees must also be sought.

When the list of the 18 diplomatic nominees was announced, there was public uproar, but more important; in the context of divisions within the ruling Jubilee party, the nominations were seen as rewards for one side of the political divide, and a slap in the face of the other. Indeed, the general perception was that the president had chosen to reward loyalists in complete disregard of the law regarding equity and national balancing in the allocation of State jobs.

But while acknowledging it might be impossible to completely divorce politics from such appointments, there are parameters and considerations that need to be looked into before an individual is nominated, and consequently appointed to serve the public. Those chosen to serve Kenyans in whatever capacity must have the competence, capacity and fortitude to excel in their work. They ought to be patriots whose loyalty is to the country, not the appointing authority as has always been the case in the past.

Parliament, as the public’s watchdog must execute its duties diligently. The Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations should give the nominees thorough checks before approving their appointments. The committee should act independently without undue pressure from the Executive. But while this is the expectation of the public, unfortunately, it has not always been the case due to competing, vested interests. Many are times that some parliamentarians were under suspicion of having been compromised. A case in point is the recent probe on illicit, imported sugar in which it was claimed parliamentarians received as little as Sh10,000 to write a favourable report.

Cases abound in which parliament vetted nominees to public offices only to question the competence of such officers later when their indiscretions became apparent. As our first line brand ambassadors abroad, Kenya’s image and international standing can be maintained only if the best and deserving are given the ambassadorial jobs.