• Some 24 nominees for Cabinet Secretary were vetted and approved by the National Assembly
• The government is facing challenges delivering its policy manifesto at a time of economic crisis
New Cabinet Secretaries have been sworn in for the Cabinet of President William Ruto.
There is a lot of work to be done. Inflation is soaring, largely as a result of the war in Ukraine. The previous government allowed debt to soar from $12 billion to over $70 billion. The Treasury owes a lot of money to county governments.
There is not a lot of room for manoeuvre. Delivering the government's policy promises will have to come more from efficiency gains than from additional spending.
CSs play a vital role in pushing the government agenda. Not everything costs money. Pursuing the correct policies and ensuring service delivery can make Kenya a better place without breaking the budget.
The vetting of the new CSs has painted some in a positive light and some in a negative light but President Ruto believes in all of them.
It is now time for all those CSs to prove they are up to the job. They should listen to the technocrats in their ministries and learn from them what needs to be done. And those new CSs must now all deliver, so that Kenyans can gain confidence in them.
Quote of the day: "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."
Erasmus
The Dutch philosopher was born on October 28, 1466