Mudavadi, the new one-man Cabinet

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi. [File, Standard]

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi will now be the busiest man in government following President William Ruto’s decision to allocate him all the roles of all the CSs that he dismissed last week.

President Ruto assigned  Mudavadi as acting CS for all ministerial portfolios from Interior through to Trade and Education. 

In a gazette notice dated July 12 but signed by the President on July 11, the president listed all the fired Cabinet Secretaries' names and assigned their roles to Mudavadi who will now be in charge of all the Ministries.  

“Pursuant to article 152 (5) of the Constitution Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi is assigned as the acting Cabinet Secretary in all vacant Ministerial portfolios,” the Gazette notice read. 

He said the review and re-organisation of his administration was necessary to embed operational enhancements and foster responsive governance.

He said he reached the decision following overwhelming feedback from Kenyans on the government’s performance of its functions.

“Now therefore, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, by the Authority vested in me by the Constitution and the Laws of the Republic of Kenya, do hereby order and direct that in accordance with Article 152 (5) (b) of Constitution, the Cabinet Secretaries listed below have been dismissed from office as stated,” the notice read. 

While dismissing the Cabinet on July 11 the Head of State said the dismissal of the Cabinet would enhance efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and accountability in public service delivery assuring the country that he would engage political formations with a view of forming a broad-based government. 

“I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government,” he said.  

The new Cabinet, he said,  will assist him to accelerate the necessary radical programmes to deal with the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, expanding job opportunities, and eliminating wastage and unnecessary duplication of a multiplicity of government agencies. 

He said the team will also help slay the dragon of corruption and consequently make the government lean, inexpensive, effective and efficient.  

“I will be announcing additional measures in due course,” he said. 

His decision is among other measures he has put in place in a bid to quell the rage of Gen Z who have been on the streets to demand good governance. 

Other measures that the president announced he would make to address the wastage of public resources included scrapping the 47 State Corporations, a move that will result in the elimination of their operational and maintenance costs, and their functions will be integrated into the respective line ministries. 

Those he had promised the positions of the Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASes) will have to look for alternatives after the Head of State was forced to suspend a plan that had already been set in motion of appointing them.