Failure by Duale, PSs to honour summons irks House committee

Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, along with his two Principal Secretaries, Festus Ng’eno (Environment and Climate Change) and Gitonga Mugambi (Forestry), are in hot water after reportedly snubbing a summons from the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining.

In a tense session held at Serena Beach Resort and Spa, chaired by Nakuru East MP David Gikaria, committee members expressed outrage, accusing the CS Duale of disrespect and insubordination.
The failure to attend was seen as a direct challenge to the authority of Parliament, and the committee vowed to take decisive action.

Attempts to present ministry matters through junior officers sent in place of the CS and PSs were swiftly shut down by the committee, which insisted that the gravity of the issues required the presence of top ministry officials, if not at least the Principal Secretaries.
Procedural failures

“Has there been any official communication explaining their absence? Are they sick? If so, where’s the written explanation?” fumed Baringo South MP and committee Vice-Chair Charles Kamuren.

“CS Duale is new to this role, but he’s already starting off on the wrong foot. We expect a certain level of seriousness.”

Attempts by Gikaria to explain that CS Duale had called to inform him that he was unavailable did little to quell the uproar. PS Ng’eno was said to be unavailable due to a worsening ear infection. Committee members were however unmoved, dismissing these explanations as procedural failures and insisting on formal communication.

“Chairman, this is Parliament business, not personal business. A letter should have been sent to the clerk by the CS. We can’t be operating on phone calls,” retorted Msambweni MP Feisal Bader.

Kacheliba MP Titus Lotee voiced his frustrations, emphasising the importance of the meeting to answer questions such as how Sh4 billion was spent in four days during the Africa Climate Summit last year.

“We were also told Sh800 million was spent on forest fires. Where did these fires happen, and how was the money used? The president pledged to plant 10 billion trees in 10 years – what’s the status?,” he wondered.

Kilifi County Woman Representative Gertrude Mbeyu echoed the sentiments, stating that without formal apologies, the reasons given were unacceptable.

Bura MP Yakub Adow went a step further, describing the absence as arrogant and vowed to submit a motion to discuss the conduct of the officials in Parliament.