- Cabinet changes were anticipated to accommodate new entrants in the wake of the formation of a government of national unity.
- Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday last week was concerned that the changes being effected targeted his friends.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has given the strongest signal yet that the anticipated Cabinet changes may not happen soon.
He has assured Cabinet and Principal secretaries that State House will not effect the changes for now.
The Star has established that President Kenyatta communicated the position to the state officers — some of whom had panicked — during last Tuesday’s meeting.
The head of state talked to the CSs, PSs and Chief Administrative Secretaries virtually.
Top government officials said in confidence that the President was categorical that “as long as we can deliver to Kenyans on the development agenda he has set, no one should worry”.
The purge of Deputy President William Ruto allies in the Senate and the National Assembly birthed fears the President would extend the same to the Cabinet.
Talk of a government of national unity was rife amid reports that ODM leader Raila Odinga, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka, Chama cha Mashinani’s Isaac Rutto, and Kanu’s Gideon Moi were asked to forward nominees for consideration.
Yesterday, multiple sources restated that 18 PSs out of 44 were to be sacked and replaced with the said nominees.
The sources further said that 12 Cabinet posts will go should the changes be executed as planned.
Word is rife that Raila’s absence has come to the rescue of the worried state officers as the Handshake principals were yet to agree on the changes.
Another factor is the bid by Sports CS Amina Mohammed for the World Trade OrganiZation's Director General position.
There is a feeling that the outcome of her bid will make the reshuffle easier, especially if she is considered for the post.
The plan is to buy time — the winner will be known next month — so even if she is replaced, there’d be no issue.
The ODM leader’s absence is also taking a toll on the negotiations, most recently delaying a number of appointments at various parastatals.
“The appointments at the parastatals were to be done last Friday but the consultations took longer. They will be done this week,” a senior state officer told the Star.
It is also emerging that the four parties — ODM, Wiper, Chama Cha Mashinani, and Kanu — may have relaxed the push to first deal with the parliamentary leadership impasse.
Jubilee has donated to them posts of committee chairmen, which are powerful House leadership positions.
DP Ruto, who has fallen out with the President, lamented that politicians, CSs, PSs and CEOs of parastatals seen to be closer to him are targeted for prosecution, removal and victimisation.
Some had reportedly started removing their personal property from their offices quietly as talk of the anticipated reshuffle grew.
But that stands to change, if the President’s assurance is anything to go by.
He reportedly said that even before he fires any State officer, he will have personally issued them with a verbal warning.
“When I hired you, I never announced it in the media. I will also not announce in the media when I want you out.
“So, ignore what is being said out there and serve Kenyans. I will be keen on your track record and nothing else,” the President is said to have told the 85 officials who attended the virtual meeting.
A press statement from State House on the meeting said the President will be appraising each CS, CAS and PS based on their performance.
Among factors to be considered is the officer’s rate of completion of projects in his/her ministry.
“As a measure of accountability, the President announced that completion rate of projects and programmes will be adopted as a key performance indicator for all CSs, CASs and PSs,” State House spokesperson Kanze Dena said.
Leadership and governance expert Frank Kaburu said should the reshuffle be informed on other factors beyond merit, President Kenyatta’s administration will go in history “as the worst government that not only impoverished Kenyans but also misused its professionals”.
Kaburu said several professionals picked by the Jubilee government from the well-paying and rewarding private sector have either been sacked or prosecuted over fabricated cases “that are now falling by the wayside in courts”.
“Kenyans who had colourful careers and hardworking are now on the streets. And the reason is that they were prosecuted on claims of corruption just to create space for other politically correct individuals,” he told the Star on the phone.
“Uhuru’s administration has made the public service so scary that in future those in the private sector will have to think twice before accepting to be appointed to Cabinet.
According to him, future presidents should protect their governments and staff from the misrule and witch-hunt witnessed in Uhuru's administration.
Technocrat CSs and PSs are reportedly poor in communicating President Kenyatta’s flagship projects, hence the bid to assign politicians the jobs.
To change this, the the head of state has directed the officers to start touring the country to explain what the government is doing.
They are expected to be on the ground, inspecting projects under their ministries, a move touted to go a long way in giving visibility to President Kenyatta’s legacy.
“The President said collective responsibility should be demonstrated by enhanced presence and visibility of government on the ground through inspection of projects and robust public engagement,” Dena said.
CASs also came under sharp focus, with CSs now required to assign them more delegated responsibilities.
At the meeting, the President took a swipe at CSs who want to be the only faces of their ministries and projects.
He called for collective responsibility in the implementation of government projects and programmes by CSs, CASs and PSs.
Belgut MP Nelson Koech told the Star that “as long as the President will continue to frustrate the DP, no one will feel his government on the ground”.
He said before last year's Executive Order appointing Interior CS Fred Matiang’i the coordinator of development projects and chair of sub-Cabinet meetings, Kenyans were “feeling the government”.
“There has been a lot of confusion in this government since Uhuru and Raila had the Handshake. While it defused the tensions among the communities, things have stagnated,” he told the Star on phone.
“The DP understood and still understands the Jubilee manifesto and how far the government has gone in rolling it out. Other than the President, he is the best positioned to explain to Kenyans but he was shoved aside and accused of using the projects to campaign for himself.”
Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata, however, said the President should be allowed to do his work as he pleases.
“He will definitely undertake the exercise (reshuffle) soon, once he sees it serves the larger interest of Kenyans,” he said.
Kang’ata on June 8 hinted at a Cabinet reshuffle to weed out leaders not appropriately delivering service to the public.
He said the restructuring would realign government structures to improve efficiency.
Public policy analyst Kariuki Ngunjiri said the President seems to have noticed that his rumoured reshuffle is being interpreted as a means of resurrecting dead political careers.
“The President is also awake to the fact that targeting another ally of the Deputy President is a risky affair that would be interpreted as malice, add salt to injury and cause more discord,” he said.
According to him, the President is probably watching the Cabinet closely to see if those he has already made up his mind to drop will make the slightest mistake.
“Eventually, a reshuffle will happen, the proposal to elevate Ambassador Amina Mohammed to the World Trade Organisation is a clear signal,” he said, adding: “He seems to have changed his mind and delay the purge until when those he is targeting will engage in the slightest of what he sees as wrong.”
- mwaniki fm