Peninah Malonza Becomes First CS To Be Rejected By MPs
Several times she had to be corrected for misquoting facts and failing to admit she made mistakes during the vetting exercise.
admin
Tourism Cabinet Secretary (CS) nominee Peninah Malonza is the first CS nominee to be rejected by the National Assembly Committee on Appointments (CoA).
The announcement was made after the leader of the Majority Kimani Ichung'wah made submissions affirming that the vetting committee resorted to rejecting the CS nominee, picked by President William Ruto.
"Pursuant to the provisions of Article 152 (2), 154 (2) and 156 (2) of the Constitution and Sections 3 and 8 of the Public Appointment Act (2011) this house rejects the appointment of the honourable Peninah Malonza OGW as the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Wildlife and Heritage," Ichung'wah noted.
However, the announcement was disputed by Minority Whip Junet Mohamed who raised a point of order indicating that more nominees were rejected.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and his deputy, Gladys Shollei, during the vetting of Cabinet Secretary nominees on October 18, 2022. /NATIONAL ASSEMBLY KE
"I want to ask them to pay attention to the report by the Minority attached to the main one that is rejecting the nomination of Aisha Jumwa and Mithika Linturi," Junet stated.
Speaker Moses Wetangula thus alerted Junet and the rest of the MPs that both reports will be made available to them before the final decision.
"The reports are available at the documents office. Please read and make informed choices when you vote," he said.
Ichung'wah noted that the decision to reject Peninah Malonza’s nomination was not a vindication of her suitability to hold public office. According to him, she did not demonstrate knowledge of technical issues touching on the Ministry and that she lacks the requisite abilities and experience to serve as the CS of Tourism.
Malonza's nomination to the Tourism docket did not initially sit well with Members of Parliament (MP) from the Azimio la Umoja coalition who faulted how she struggled to prove herself that she was the right candidate to take over from outgoing CS Najib Balala, one of Kenya's longest office bearers of the tourism docket.
Several times she had to be corrected for misquoting facts and failing to admit she made mistakes during the vetting exercise.
"If the nominee does not know, she should just say that and express that she will check the facts later. Next time she will say it is Ksh2.5 trillion.
"If she is not sure of the facts. She should just leave them out," Imenti North MP, Rahim Dawood stated at the time.
The corrections by the panel also saw Wetangula advise her to avoid misquoting figures.
"No one knows everything, it is how you will engage in office if we approve you. You can say you will formulate policies, and legislation and find out. All those responses are good answers," Wetangula advised.
During the vetting, Malonza promised that she would promote tourism through marketing, promotional trade fairs, and Magical Kenya, and pursue avenues such as digital marketing among others.
“One of the strategies that I will employ is rebranding and repositioning Kenya by reaching out to our traditional markets and reaching out to new and emerging markets like China and Japan. The other strategy I will use is developing new niche products,” she told the National Assembly’s Committee on Appointments.
She also expressed hope in lowering the entry fees for both international and domestic tourists, and tourist attraction sites. Malonza gave an example of the iconic 28-story Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) whose entry fee for locals is Ksh200 and Ksh600 for foreigners.
