Nairobi county government will have a substantive county secretary before July.
This will fill the position — hopefully — for the long-term since Governor Mike Sonko fired Peter Kariuki from the office in September 2018 over the Pumwani Hospital dead infants saga over what he termed as sabotage.
According to a statement by Sonko's director of communications Elcana Jacob on Sunday, a new county secretary will be in place in the course of this financial year.
“The governor has appointed Mr [Justus] Kathenge to be the acting county secretary pending the nomination and vetting of the new county secretary later this year,” the statement read in part.
Kathenge replaced Public Service Management chief officer Leboo Morintat, who was also serving in the docket in an acting capacity.
Pauline Kahiga, who was then the Agriculture executive, served in an acting capacity since then up to last year in July.
Morintat, who was the then deputy county secretary, took over from Kahiga and has been serving both offices until February 19.
Nairobi County Public Service Board in June 2019 advertised for applicants for the county secretary position with interested individuals given up to June 24, 2019 to submit their application forms.
To qualify, one must have a Bachelor’s Degree from a university recognised in Kenya and a Master’s Degree in Human Resource.
One must also have not less than 10 years of work experience, five of which should be in administration and management.
However, nothing has been announced regarding the process up to date but Jacob yesterday said City Hall might re-advertise for the position.
If an applicant qualifies, the board forwards the candidate's name to the Nairobi county assembly for vetting by the Committee on Appointments, which also vets the CECs and county attorney.
Duties of the county secretary include coordination of county state functions and ensuring efficient management of resources.
They also provide direction and guidance to public officers in the county and ensures efficient management of resources
