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Kenya: Move to Trim Cabinet is Long Overdue
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The Nation (Nairobi)
EDITORIAL
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Nairobi
Parliament made a historic move this week by passing a Private Member's Motion allowing him to draft a Bill limiting the number of Cabinet ministers.
The Motion was timely. In fact, it should have been debated years ago.
Unfortunately, although Parliament has the constitutional mandate to determine the number of Cabinet positions allowable, it has never crafted a law to do so.
As a result, successive presidents have created ministries at will, leading to a huge expansion of the Cabinet, despite the economic challenges this poses.
Whereas the Independence Cabinet had only 20 members, the number has more than doubled today.
And this may not be the last of it unless legislation is enacted to tie the hands of the appointing authority.
What we have seen in the past is a whimsical practice, where the Head of State creates an unwieldy Cabinet to serve narrow political interest.
Such Cabinets do not add value to governance; they are, in fact, a heavy burden to taxpayers.
For example, the Government of National Unity, crafted at the end of 2005 after the fallout in the National Rainbow Coalition, demonstrated how survival instincts, rather than national good, influenced Cabinet appointments.
Only recently, the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement engaged in vicious debate about the composition of the Cabinet in terms of numbers, structure, and even identities of the people to be appointed.
Ultimately, President Kibaki and Mr Odinga resorted to creating a bloated Cabinet, much against the public will.
Such a situation would not have arisen if there were constitutional guidelines on Cabinet size.
Clearly, there is a lacuna in law that needs to be sealed. This is why legislator Ekwee Ethuro must be supported to move quickly to draft the Bill.
Going by the mood in Parliament, there is every indication the matter has wide approval.
The time has come for Parliament to assert its authority and provide direction on the country's governance structure.
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Countries like Nigeria, Uganda and Britain did that long ago. Now is the opportune moment for Kenya to do the same.
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