While CSs are largely technocrats, majority of CASs are politicians

President Uhuru Kenyatta

President Uhuru Kenyatta has finally unveiled his dream team after nine Cabinet Secretaries were sworn-in. The expanded Cabinet of 44 men and women holds Kenyans’ huge expectations for the next five years and they will make or break President Kenyatta’s legacy.

They must therefore grow a thick skin and get down to work immediately. There’s no room for exaggerated homecomings or boisterous celebrations for the new team. The relationship between Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) and their assistants in the name of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) will particularly be in sharp focus.

While the CSs are largely technocrats, majority of the CASs are politicians. This mix has the potential for a clash of egos, but used creatively, it can reinvigorate ministries and help spark new life in a public service that has for years refused to embrace hard work and visionary leadership.

The balance between political muscle and professionalism should be harnessed to make Kenya’s dream come true amid huge challenges facing the country.

Top on the mind is the political contestation between President Kenyatta and NASA leader Raila Odinga, which will be with us for a long time. Uhuru’s dream team must be alive to the divisions created by the contest and work towards enhancing cohesion rather than adding fodder to seeds of discord. The Cabinet must serve all Kenyans equally and never been seen to disadvantage areas that largely support the opposition.

The ‘dream team’ must also confront the ghost of corruption that has stifled growth and taken down dozens of careers. The cartels of corruption are already sharpening their teeth and it will take a will of steel to put them at bay. However, with political goodwill right from the top, stealing of public resources can be curbed. Kenyans will hugely rely on the 44 individuals to slay the graft dragon. Are they up to the task?

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES

That said, this past week, I met a young Kenyan of Asian descent running a Kenyan motorcycle spare parts manufacturing plant in Nairobi’s Industrial Area. His two-year-old factory produces five parts of the more than 300 parts that make up a motorcycle or boda boda as many Kenyans refer to the popular mode of transport. He has employed some 100 Kenyans and the future, he says, looks bright if only right policies are put in place, a favourable tax regime and a conducive business environment. He says with adequate incentives, many of the other parts can also be produced locally. This would create more jobs and opportunities for majority of young graduates coming out of learning institutions annually.

You could say his is a small enterprise today, but imagine if major sectors of the economy can encourage and support a thousand of such brilliant young Kenyans come up with own small manufacturing plants. The impact could catapult our economy to double digit growth within a few years and greatly enhance quality of life for everyone.

The so-called cottage industry would not only reduce unemployment, but would also play a huge role in lowering crime. But this is easier said than done as we have witnessed in the past 54 years of independence. However, it is not rocket science and this is where Uhuru’s ‘dream team’ can come in and make a difference in job creation.

Every minister should constantly seek ways of creating opportunities for self-employment by supporting local enterprise. This should not be the same as corruption, but through well thought out processes that benefit a huge number of people and with potential to sustain future growth.

Finally, Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed has been retained in this crucial docket, and I think we need to hear more of what he is doing to support manufacturing. His could be the spark of a sustainable creation of decent opportunities.