Senate Speaker Amason Kingi makes his way into the Kilifi county assembly chamber during Senate Mashinani in the county /HANDOUTPresident William Ruto’s decision to take seven Cabinet Secretaries to New York for the United Nations General Assembly has triggered a storm in the Senate.
Lawmakers are questioning the government’s priorities and the overall cost of the delegation.
Opposition senators on Wednesday questioned why key CSs were missing from the Senate’s Mashinani sitting in Kilifi, where at least three of the seven CSs were expected to appear before plenary to respond to various queries.
Education CS Julius Ogamba, Mining and Blue Economy CS Hassan Joho and ICT's William Kabogo were among those absent, denying senators an opportunity to seek answers on issues affecting Kenyans.
But Kenya Kwanza senators defended the delegation, saying the Cabinet secretaries were not merely accompanying the President but were using the trip to conduct official government business and hold bilateral engagements.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale led the criticism, questioning the size of the delegation and its financial implications for taxpayers.
“Kenya is not a failed state where seven CSs can accompany the head of state to the UN General Assembly and the responsibility that they are going to discharge is to sit in the background when the President is reading a statement,” he said.
Khalwale said the trip raised questions about the efficiency of government and the use of public funds, citing the cost of air tickets, security and other expenses.
“Parliament of Kenya should be disturbed because this not only has a bearing on the efficiency of how our government is run, it also has a financial implication,” he said.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna criticised Joho’s absence, saying it had frustrated efforts by senators to obtain answers on concerns raised by residents of Kilifi.
Sifuna said he expected Joho to appear after a Senate committee visited the Kilifi Central fish landing site, where lawmakers heard complaints from fishermen, young people and residents.
He said he wanted to engage Joho directly on employment opportunities for young people living around the project.
“They are very worried, especially the young people there, who have not been given any assurance that they will be the ones given priority to work there,” Sifuna said.
Residents had also been told the facility could be operated through a public-private partnership, creating uncertainty over the future of the project and its benefits to the local community.
“People are worried. Senator Mungatana was there. You had the concerns of the beach management units. You had the concerns of the area residents and it would have been a very useful conversation to have,” Sifuna said.
He also criticised Joho after the CS posted on social media while walking through the streets of New York.
Sifuna contrasted the minister’s stroll through the US city with conditions in Nairobi, saying CSs rarely walk around the capital to experience the daily struggles of ordinary Kenyans.
“The most interesting thing Kenyans have noted is that this government delegation has never taken a walk in our own capital the way that they’re walking around in other capitals,” he said.
Sifuna cited poor roads, inadequate pavements and pedestrian safety concerns in Nairobi, arguing that government officials should experience such problems first-hand.
He asked the Speaker to direct the House on when the absent CSs would appear before senators to respond to the issues raised.
“I’m just to register the disappointment on behalf of the young people and the fishermen that spoke to us yesterday at the fish landing site and to hope that we will have the CSs appear soonest possible. I don’t know how long UNGA lasts,” Sifuna said.
But Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana defended the President’s delegation, saying international trips provide CSs with opportunities to negotiate agreements and hold meetings with their counterparts.
“Whenever we accompany the Head of State, if it is a ministry and there are agreements to be signed, you have separate meetings, side meetings and you are able to execute,” he said.
“In the same trip, you multitask, you do many things at the same time instead of coming back and going and going and going.”
Mungatana said senators should explain to the public that CSs accompanying the President abroad have official assignments beyond sitting behind him during his speeches.
“It is not true, Mr Speaker, that the only duty that the ministers execute is to sit behind the President and just pass notes,” he said.
The confrontation unfolded as senators held the Mashinani sitting in Kilifi, an initiative intended to take Parliament closer to citizens and allow residents to raise concerns directly with their representatives.
The constitution empowers Parliament and its committees to summon Cabinet secretaries and other officials to provide information and answer questions on matters under their dockets.
