National Assembly, Senate to vet Competition Authority Director General nominee

By Peter Ochieng

Members of the National Assembly and Senate Committees on Finance and National Planning, will jointly conduct approval hearings for David Kibet Kemei.

Kemei is the nominee for appointment as the Director-General of the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK). Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetang'ula has formally communicated to the House during a plenary session on Tuesday.

"Honourable Members, in the Message, the Ag. Cabinet Secretary conveys that, in exercise of powers conferred by section 12 of the Competition Act, CAP 504, he nominates Mr. David Kibet Kemei for appointment as the Director-General of the Competition Authority. The Ag. Cabinet Secretary therefore seeks the approval of the said nominee by Parliament," said Speaker Wetang'ula.

The vetting shall therefore be conducted by the National Assembly departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, and the relevant Senate Standing Committee.

The joint committee will have until October 3, 2024, to complete its assessment and submit a report to both Houses. Speaker Wetangula emphasised the importance of adhering to the timelines stipulated in the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, ensuring transparency and accountability in the appointment process.

The public will have an opportunity to submit memoranda to the joint committee, providing valuable input on the nominee’s suitability for the position. Details of the public hearing will be announced in due course.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Kenya Visually Impaired Teachers’ Association have expressed strong opposition to the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC), over the automatic deduction of 1.5% of their salaries as agency fees to the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET).

The teachers argue that they never registered as members of KUSNET, and that the union does not represent their interests.

During a sitting of the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, chaired by Sen. Julius Murgor, union Chairperson Mbugua Kamau recounted his involuntary transfer from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) to KUSNET in February 2022.

He criticised the T-Pay online platform, used by teachers to manage third-party deductions, for its lack of an option to exit KUSNET.

However, TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, who was present at the meeting, refuted Kamau's claims. “The T-Pay system allows teachers to manage individual transactions by approving any third-party deductions they wish to be applied to their pay-slips,” Macharia said.

“Similarly, a teacher who desires to exit a union needs only to log into the T-Pay system and stop the deduction.”

Sen. Murgor concluded by emphasising that the issue revolves around the freedom of employees to choose their union representation.

He urged TSC to respect this freedom and to better sensitise teachers about union and agency fees.