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Puzzle of State agency operating for eight years without a board
Attorney General Justin Muturi when he appeared before the Ad-hoc Committee at the County Hall Nairobi on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Senators want him to identify agencies without boards.
Attorney-general Justin Muturi is in on the spot over revelations that an agency under his office has been operating for more than eight years without a board, and staff have no job definition.
The Victim Protection Board, it emerged, has yet to be incorporated since 2014 when the law establishing it was enacted. The revelation is contained in a petition filed in the Senate by Nayan Salva, who is seeking an investigation into the delayed appointment of the board.
According to the petitioner, although the Victims Protection Act, which established the Victim Protection Board, was enacted in 2014, the agency does not have a board. Furthermore, the Victims Rights Charter has not been implemented.
“The staff of the Victim Protection Board have been on salary for eight years, yet the board remains unincorporated and the Victims Rights Charter has not been implemented,” the petition reads in part.
The petitioner wants the Senate to investigate the delay. In addition, he wants the House should investigate the functioning of the Victim Protection Board and its activities since 2014.
“The petitioner prays that the Senate should investigate the role of the Office of the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Justice in the operationalisation of the Act,” said Speaker Amason Kingi.
Responding to the petition, lawmakers laid the blame lies squarely on Mr Muturi, adding that many other agencies were operating without boards.
Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago said it was sad that some civil servants have been drawing salaries for more than eight years without doing their jobs.
He argued that the issue of the establishment of boards was not limited to the Victims Board, saying there were a number of institutions that were operating outside the law because of the absence of the board. He claimed that the Tobacco Control Fund has also been operating without a board for a long time.
“It is high time that these organisations were given a timetable. I ask this House to give a specific timeline for the establishment of these boards,” said Mr Mandago.
His Tana River counterpart, Danson Mungatana, urged the AG to conduct a comprehensive audit of government agencies operating without boards to avoid wastage of public funds.
He said it was unfortunate that the staff of the agency continued to receive salaries yet their jobs were not well defined because the board was not incorporated.
