KENYA: He was a little known politician before joining the Tenth Parliament. But today, Mr Aden Duale is one of the most powerful players in the National Assembly.
Adan Duale
The Garissa Township MP has had to bear some griping about the alleged powers he wields as an unofficial ‘gatekeeper’ to State House. He, however, shrugs this off and says he thinks he has done well, thanks to his ties to lawmakers across the divide.
His first term saw him appointed assistant minister by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga under the Coalition Government arrangement, then sacked in less than three years alongside Deputy PresidentWilliam Ruto.
This time round, having been nominated Leader of Majority, Duale is in charge of Government business in the House. He is, effectively, performing what used to be the role of the Vice President in earlier parliaments.
However, 100 days into the job under the Jubilee coalition Duale contends this is no easy business. “I like my job but I can tell you this is not an easy task because you have to ensure the interests of the Government in the National Assembly are protected, “ Duale told The Standard On Saturday.
“You will never do this alone since on any agenda, you need sufficient numbers to succeed. For this reason, I have to always ensure I enjoy a good relationship with my colleagues, including our competitors, the CORD coalition.”
Satisfied with work
Duale says he is satisfied with the work the Jubilee coalition and the National Assembly have achieved so far.
“I am happy with our achievements especially in so far as the National Assembly is concerned,” said Duale. “Under my watch, the Government has never lost any motion or agenda on the floor of the House.” He names the effort to rally members to support President Uhuru nominees for various offices – among them Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and the Solicitor General – as a key achievement.
Unlike the work of the Leader of Government Business in the past, the Leader of Majority has enormous responsibilities because members of the Cabinet are no longer in Parliament to respond to questions and other concerns MPs raise. For this reason, he says, the Leader of Majority is in constant communication with the President, Deputy President and Cabinet Secretaries.
“My job, though complex, has so far been made manageable because of the good relationship I enjoy with the President, Deputy President and Cabinet Secretaries,” he said. “I have daily contact with the President and his deputy especially. It is this good coordination that has made things run smoothly.
In fact, Cabinet Secretaries make an effort to ensure I consistently get proper and up-to-date briefs so that I can handle issues as they may come up on the floor of the House.” The most challenging moment since he became Leader of Majority, Duale says, was when CORD coalition members conspired to disapprove President Uhuru’s nominee for Solicitor General, Njee Muturi.
The President was holding a meeting with MPs from the Jubilee coalition at State House, which gave CORD an advantage when the Motion of approval of Muturi was introduced. Duale says CORD had more than twice as many members present in the House that day as the Jubilee coalition.
“I left State House after I learnt of the conspiracy by CORD to defeat the motion,” he recalls. “I had to continuously engage my colleagues from CORD to create time for our members to arrive in the chambers and at the same time mobilise Jubilee members. I am happy I succeeded.”
Another challenging moment, he says, was the rejection of Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie by the vetting committee. Again, he says, he helped persuade members to negate the move to have Kandie rejected. Kigumo MP and chair of the Energy committee Jamleck Kamau was also instrumental in reversing the move to reject Kandie’s name.
“My driving force is commitment to serve the people of Kenya, loyalty to Jubilee and team work,” Duale says. “I need the support of members to move Government business in Parliament. Because I was a member of ODM in the past, I have managed to win over some members of the CORD alliance to the Government side. We hope to do more in the coming days in implementing the Jubilee manifesto.”
By MWANIKI MUNUHE, The Standard
