Documents show two TSC nominees worth Sh245m

Economy

Documents show two TSC nominees worth Sh245m

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 0:01

By JOHN MUTUA

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s two nominees to the Teachers Service Commission are worth a combined Sh245 million, documents tabled Parliament show.

Filings tabled before the National assembly committee on Education and Research show that Mr Mbage Njuguna, a career lawyer, is worth Sh165 million while Ms Leila Ali’s net wealth is Sh80 million.

The documents did not however disclose their assets and income sources even as Members of Parliament sought to push the nominees to reveal the sources of their wealth.

President Kenyatta picked the two last month to replace three commissioners whose six-year tenure at the teachers’ employer ended last year.

Parliament has until April 6 to approve or reject the two nominees seeking to replace Mr Cleophas Tirop, Ms Salome Gichura and Ms Saadia Abdi Kontoma.

The two, if approved by Parliament, will join current TSC commissioners Beatrice Adu, Mbarak Twahir, Kinoti Imanyara, Tache Gollo and Albert Ekirapa.

The scanty wealth revelations by the two nominees come at a time MPs are pushing for amendments in law that will require all vettable nominees to provide a detailed breakdown of all the sources of their wealth as opposed to providing a block figure.

"Question 25 of the questionnaire on statement of net worth should be amended to specify that nominees provide details of their net worth instead of submitting a total sum," the Committee on Appointments chaired by Speaker Justin Muturi said while vetting Health Secretary Mutahi Kagwe.

Wealth declaration for those seeking top public offices is anchored in the Constitution as a tool in the fight against corruption while the Public Officer Ethics Act requires all State officers to submit their declaration forms once every two years.

The full financial disclosure is meant to allow the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to detect and prevent corruption when top public servants are serving in office.