Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale /HANDOUT
Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has rejected preferential treatment accorded to senior government officials, saying positions of power should not disconnect leaders from ordinary people.
Duale said he was disturbed after a special chair was brought for him while his staff sat on ordinary seats, prompting him to ask that it be removed.
“Please don't bring me such a chair. I was very much disturbed. I like living ground zero,” Duale said.
He said leaders who rise from humble backgrounds should remain connected to the people and communities they come from instead of adopting lifestyles that distance them from ordinary citizens.
Duale cited a book by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, saying it offers lessons on how people should conduct themselves after rising to positions of privilege and joining the upper class.
“If you want to know when God takes you from ground zero up, then you need to read Lenin's book on bourgeois,” he said.
“He tells you when God lifts you and you join the top class, don't behave like them. Don't go and play golf if you live in a thatched house. Still live among those people.”
The CS said the large chair made him uncomfortable because he does not consider himself superior to the people working under him.
He said public officials should remain humble despite the titles, privileges and influence that come with holding senior positions in government.
Duale jokingly suggested that the chair might have been more suitable for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho because of his popular “Sultan” title.
“When I saw the big thing, I was like I am not even a king. Maybe if it was Minister Joho, he had a title, Sultan. Maybe he could have sat on it,” Duale said.
“But for me, that small chair is fine, it's good to live humble and live on ground zero.”
He said he preferred sitting on the same type of chairs as his staff, noting that leadership should not create unnecessary barriers between senior officials and the people they work with.
“I want to sit the way you are sitting because, you are part of me and you are my staff,” he said.
Duale's remarks underscored his call for leaders to maintain humility and remain connected to ordinary citizens even after attaining positions of power and influence.
He said rising to senior positions should not lead individuals to abandon their backgrounds or adopt lifestyles that separate them from the communities they once lived among.
