Chairperson of Public Appointments Committee of Parliament Joyce Chitsulo has described Kenyan President William Samoei Arap Ruto as ‘candlelight’ for strengthening watchdog institutions in his country.
Chitsulo, who is in Kenya attending the various stakeholders meetings ranging from women empowerment and leadership at the prestigious Ibrahim Governance Weekend (IGW), was reacting to Ruto’s speech.
She said the keynoted address by President Ruto is clear testimony that the Kenyan people have a leader who is dedicated to strengthen democratic and governance institutions as fulcrums of accountability and transparency, peace and unity, social justice.
In his speech Ruto, who was the guest of honour at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation awards, said that during campaign he promised his people to open the office of the Leader of the Opposition, appointing judges the bench and give the judiciary enough resources, removing police force from his office so that it can discharge duties independently and allowing his cabinet to appear before parliament to answer some technical questions, things that he has fulfilled within 100 days when he took office.
In an interview with Malawi Voice Chitsulo said she has learned a lot in spaces of good governance with Ibrahim Foundation.
“I have been challenged that equity, fairness and impartiality are the engines of good governance. This includes allocating public resources according to priorities, oversight mechanisms to monitor official actors in public agencies, and the ability of individuals who seek effective redress when impartiality is not respected by top leadership, said Joyce Chitsulo in a telephone interview from her hotel room in Nairobi.
She further said that the platform has increased her technical capacity in managing leadership that a weak governance watchdog can be captured making service provisions distorted to favour the elites and that aggregated corruption becoming a pandemic if oversight institutions like parliamentary committees are sleeping on duty.
“The functional and true test of democracy is the extent to which parliamentary committees have to ensure that the executive arm of government remains answerable and accountable to the people. This is done by putting constant and vibrant mechanisms to monitor government actions and summon all “bad apples” to defend their actions, before parliament,” said Chitsulo who is Member of Parliament for Mwanza West.
She has therefore asked policymakers to incorporate more women in decision making bodies so that they too can shine at glamorous platforms.
During the function, the Foundation honoured 2021 Ibrahim Prize winner and Former Nigerien President, Mahamadou Issoufou for his outstanding leadership, dedication to democracy, and support for sustainable development.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is an African foundation founded by Sudanese-British businessman and philanthropist, Mo Ibrahim. Headquartered in London and Dakar, the Foundation was established in 2006 as a non-grant making organisation. It works to strengthen sound governance and leadership in Africa through its key initiatives.
