SINCE WHEN DID THE ICEBC ABOLISH THE ENGLISH / KISWAHILI LANGUAGE TEST FOR PARLIAMENTARY AND SENATORIAL ASPIRANTS IN KENYA?

Commentary by Leo Odera Omolo

The concerted effort recently made by the Independent Electoral and boundary Commission{IEBC} to ensure that the candidates aspiring for the elective positions of County governorship have obtained university degrees from the recognized institutions of higher leaning and universities is commendable.

However, we have so far not been told of what happened to the National Language Board, that has always been tasked with the responsibility of conducting tests and interview for the purposes of assessing the communication skills of all those aspiring to be elected into our legislators system.

Have only heard and witnesses candidates aspiring for the parliamentary and senatorial seat being cleared by the IEBC officials to contest the election minus the compulsory certificates of proficiency in both English and Kiswahili languages.

What has happened to the National Language Board. It been abolished? Long before independence in 1963 these language boards were always constituted at the Provincial {PEOs} levels under the supervision of the Provincial Education Officers, whose duties were recently changed and transformed to be the Provincial Directors of Education {PDE}

The Provincial language boards were later replaced by the National Language Board. There were categories of candidates who were automatically exempted from sitting before the board, particularly those armed and equipped diplomas from learning institutions and colleges.

The idea behind these tests were mainly to ensure that those who seek for elections into our legislative bodies were people capable of fo0llowing the proceedings and debates in those bodies.

I have gone through the new constitution, but failed to locate any clause within the sacred document that speaks about the abolition of the National Language Board. And now that under the new constitutional dispensation, Kenya has returned to the tri-cameral parliamentary system, it would be prudent for the IEBC to ensure that those elected to the next parliament and the Senate, should be men and women of high integrity and communication skills.

There are special cases when our legislators are sent to represent Kenyan in the regional and international forums at which communication skills are most essential and compulsorily required to enable our delegates to actively participate in the deliberations of such forums.

In this context, am aware of the |Nyayo eras, during which politically correct individuals were exempted and nominated to serve in parliament and in other bodies irrespective when they were able to follow the proceeding or not. This were the period when the likes of Mulu Mutisya, Ezekiel Bargetuny, Joseph Leitich and other were made MPs by KANU big-wigs.

I happen to be privy and regular attendance at the various regional and international forums including ministerial councils of the African Union or other regional bodies. Kenya had became the laughing stocks attracting derogatory comments by delegates from our neighboring countries, who were wondering why a country like Kenya which is reputed for having excelled in producing more intellectuals and technocrats could send team of mediocre to represent her I n such important forums.

The way I see things happen and in the absence of a competent National Language Board I can accurately predict that the next [parliament could be filled by MPs with half-baked education, academically dwarfs and semi-illiterate legislators. The same could be said of the Senate.

It is only the IEBC which can rescue our country from the impending bug shame. I have heard some of the parliamentary and Senatorial aspirants speaking while arguing their individual cases in connection with the recently flawed political parties preliminary nominations exercises, and I have come into conclusions if these are the same people expected to be voted into our legislators system on March 4, 2013

I am sure for certain that the likes of Mike Mbuvi {Sonko] of Makadara, Mary Wambui of Othaya constituencies just top mention a few example are not sufficiently qualified to sit in the August House.

The 10th parliament had its share of semi-illiterate MPs who sat there fir five years and left without even framing one single question or the supplementary question, leave alone making their maiden speeches in the House owing to language handicaps.

In this age of the dot-com generation we need to move a high notch and deviate from the couture of electing to our supreme legislative bodies people with questionable academic background.

In the 10th parliament we Kenyan should be grateful and thankful to the Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Otiato Marende whose skills got us where we are today, because the last parliament faced myriad of constitutional problems during the constitutional dispensations and debates of hundreds of most complicated and important bills related to constitutional advancement.

The former Emuhaya had succeeded in guiding the House to the higher scale of debates despite of the intrigues of the coalition government. I wish the next MPs would be compelled to re-consider Mr.Marende to be given a second chance to serve Kenyans in the same capacity

There only a few regular contributors to these constitutional debates, with good numbers of MPs who sat there and earned millions of shillings from the public coffers without making any meaningful contributions to the debates and deliberations in the House. We should therefore not allow similar situation to arise again. Kenya is not short of the technocrats therefore the voters should be sensitize to cast their votes for only the mature and

The time is also ripe for Kenyans to desist from the political culture voting for heavily moneyed aspirants. It has became evidence that in this country anybody who come u with ill-gotten drugs money makes it easy to Parliament even if such a person have no leadership quality. This makes it clear that Kenyans have become money worshippers.

Let us go for men and women whose integrity and performance would portray our country as the land of dissent men and women. We should know that communication skills is power Anyone who cannot communicate well in any of the two official languages, namely English and Kiswahili has no business seeking to be elected an Mp or a Senator.

Ends