I changed job ethic, nominee tells Nakuru House team

An administrator has defended his nomination as county secretary and head of public service.

Benjamin Njoroge told the Committee on Appointments that he had instilled professionalism in Governor Lee Kinyanjui’s (pictured) administration.

“As a career civil servant who served the provincial administration for the national government, I came up with a clocking system at the county headquarters and sub-county level to change the work ethic,” said Mr Njoroge.

The official, who has been serving in an acting capacity for the past year, was speaking during a vetting and approval hearing in the assembly. Mr Kinyanjui picked him last week as the only nominee for the vacant position.

The 57-year-old administrator told committee members that when he was hired, employees rarely came to work on time.

“The staff, especially senior officers, used to report to work between 10 and 11am. The work ethic was poor and residents had difficulty getting services at the county headquarters,” he said.

Work ethic

Majority Leader Stanley Karanja took Njoroge to task over a decision to reshuffle officers at the county treasury and procurement department, accusing him of getting rid of staff who served in the previous administration.

Njoroge said the decision was aimed at curbing corruption. “We did the reshuffle to protect public funds and to ensure efficiency in service delivery. If you visit the department you will notice the difference. There are no more long queues of people seeking payments."

His nomination was challenged by Wycliffe Oguda, a civil rights activist, who accused him of abusing his powers when he served as a district commissioner in Garissa and Changamwe.

Speaker Joel Kairo said Mr Oguda’s petition would be considered along with two others supporting Njoroge’s nomination when the committee wrote its report.