National Assembly Receives President’s Nominations for UNEP, PSC Posts

The National Assembly has received two messages from the President seeking parliamentary approval for the appointment of Mrs. Ida Betty Odinga and Mr. Francis Meja to top State offices.

In a communication to the House on Tuesday, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Moses Wetang’ula, informed Members that Mrs. Odinga had been nominated for appointment as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), while Mr. Meja has been nominated as Chairperson of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

“Pursuant to Article 132(2) of the Constitution and the relevant provisions of the Foreign Service Act, His Excellency the President has nominated Canon (Dr.) Ida Betty Odinga for appointment as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to UNEP,” said the Speaker.

Speaker Wetang’ula added that the President had also forwarded the name of Mr. Francis Meja for consideration as Chairperson of the PSC.

“The President now seeks the approval of the National Assembly on the appointment of the two distinguished nominees to the respective offices,” Dr. Wetang’ula stated.

The Speaker directed that the nomination of Mrs. Ida Odinga be referred to the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations for consideration, while that of Mr. Meja is referred to the Departmental Committee on Labour.

Dr. Wetang’ula reminded the House that the First Schedule to the Public Service Commission Act requires the National Assembly to consider a nominee to the Commission within fourteen days, while the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act provides a period of twenty-eight days for vetting.

He further directed the two committees to “immediately commence the approval process, notify the nominees and the public of the time and place for the hearings, and table their reports within the stipulated timelines.”