President William Ruto oversaw the swearing-in of 19 Cabinet Secretaries at State House Thursday.
This followed a vetting process by the Parliamentary vetting committee. At the end of the process, the panel rejected the nomination of Stella Soi Lang’at as the Cabinet Secretary nominee for the Ministry of Gender. Apparently, Ms Lang’at did not acquit herself well by failing to convince the panel she was fully apprised of the workings of the ministry to which she was nominated.
The 19 CSs, drawn from across the political divide, will be Ruto’s second Cabinet. The President dismissed his first cabinet on July 11, 2024, following demands and pressure exerted on him by protests organised by the Gen Z age cohort. Ruto then promised to appoint a broad-based government, a euphemism for bringing the opposition into his cabinet. The legality of doing so has been questioned in some quarters, but it is not lost on Kenyans the country needed healing, which could not happen with a section of Kenyans feeling excluded from government.
The easy part for the new CSs is over. They are in the public eye and must hit the ground running. There is no time to bask in the glory that comes with high office. There is a lot in their individual trays that demands immediate attention. Time is not on their side. As Ruto reminded the CSs, they must secure a prosperous country that serves the interests of all Kenyans. The onus of enhancing inclusivity in national development and unlocking the potential of our country has been cast upon them.
As the men and women who the president has chosen to help him manage the affairs of the country, there are very high expectations of the cabinet Secretaries. Part of their work is to negotiate, listen to what the people say on how they want to be governed, and where disagreements arise, it is up to them to find a middle ground to enable the country move forward.
The CSs must always be cognisant that the interests of the nation are greater than their own, and those of any political party as Ruto cautioned. In a nutshell, the CSs have a duty to stand up for Kenyans in whatever situation. Among others, the need for the Cabinet to expedite the streamlining of affairs in the Education, Security and Health sectors cannot be gainsaid. The confusion over the shift from NHIF to SHIF and other issues in the Ministry of Health call for urgent attention.
The confusion over the new curriculum (CBC), Junior Secondary schools (JSS), university fees, delayed and reduced capitation, including disbursement of education bursaries, should be addressed pronto. The canker of tribalism and corruption have been with us for as long as independent Kenya is old. We cannot continue to decry the effects of corruption on service delivery without doing something about it.
The new CSs can, and should lead the fight against corruption by rooting out cartels in their individual ministries. The cartels have crippled operations for decades. We need a functional cabinet that will deliver tangible results in the shortest time possible.
