What awaits Ruto cabinet secretaries in actualising hustler dream

Ezekiel Machogu, CS Nominee for Education. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Ministry of Education-- Ezekiel Machogu

• Competency-Based Curriculum has entered critical stage but criticism still abound
• Ruto has ordered a review on the CBC but his deputy has clarified there is no plan of phasing it out.
• Government lagging behind on building classrooms to accommodate learners transitioning to junior secondary schools
• Debate on scrapping boarding schools still abound
• New CS expected to actualize Ruto dream of hiring 116,000 teachers within two financial years
• Actualise Ruto promise to merge HELB, TVET and University Funding Board under a National Skill & Funding Council
• Actualise Ruto dream of doubling money allocated to school feeding programme
• Implement Ruto promise of paying for in-service teacher trainings initiated by State

Ababu Namwamba, CS nominee youth affairs, Sports and Arts. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Ministry of youth affairs, Sports and Arts- Ababu Namwamba

• There were 959,889 youth (15-34 years) classified as unemployed by March 2021
• 67 million youth classified as not in labour force by March 2021
• Youth not in the education system and not working or being trained for work totaled 3 million by March 2021
• The FIFA ban on Kenya's premier league is still on
• The start of 2022/2023 premier league season is in a limbo as clubs disown caretaker committee picked by CS Amina last year
• The Jubilee administration promise on stadiums still hangs on
• Many sports men and women are retiring to a life of penury
• Dwindling fortunes of corporates has seen many sports entities starved of sponsorship money
• National Youth Talent Academy (NYTA) not inclusive of all sports and also not doing much to grow grassroots talent
• New CS expected to return Kenya to international football as promised by Ruto
• The CS also expected to work on keeping alive the Safari Rally
• The CS will also have to find ways of mainstreaming arts and culture and convert it into money for millions of youth

Njuguna Ndung'u, CS Nominee for National Treasury and Planning. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Ministry of National Treasury and Planning- Njuguna Ndung'u

• Public debt is at Sh8.563 trillion and there's pressure for govt to slow down on fresh debt
• Debt ceiling is Sh10 trillion, leaving thin room to borrow more
• Inflation is now at over five-year high and has breached govt's range of 5% to 7.5%
• There is IMF pressure for radical reforms on parastatals such as KQ and Kenya Power
• There are over Sh500 billion pending bills which need to be prioritized
• The shilling is on a weakening streak against the dollar and import costs are rising
• Subsidies such as those on fuel are proving unsustainable
• Ruto wants a review on checks involved in handling Sh1m and above and CS will have to work with CBK on this

Energy and Petroleum CS nominee Davis Chirchir. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Ministry of energy and petroleum-- Davis Chirchir

• Address the rising cost of fuel even as state drops subsidy
• Address calls to review the role of independent power producers
• Accelerate development of geothermal and wind energy
• Provide legislation to promote development of micro-grids
• Work with the private sector to accelerate the move from fossil fuels to green energy
• Address concerns about fair revenue sharing between mining companies and communities
• Ensure Kenyan taxpayers and surrounding communities get the full benefits of the ongoing oil prospecting in Lamu and Turkana
• Lay ground and establish single consumer protection oversight agency for all utilities as promised by Ruto
• Set up a legal framework to ring-fence the fuel stabilisation fund as pledged in manifesto

EAC, Arid & Semi-arid Lands Developments CS Nominee Rebecca Miano. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Ministry of EAC, arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) and regional development-- Rebecca Miano

• Address dissatisfaction between Kenya and Uganda exporters
• Address falling exports to Uganda, Kenya's biggest trade partner
• Address concerns of EAC member states over Kenya's trade deal with the US and UK
• Over 3.1 million Kenyans are facing starvation and require aid
• Address the ongoing conflict in the DRC, the regional bloc's latest entrant
• Review the application of Somalia to join the regional block

Roads, Transport and Public Works CS Nominee Kipchumba Murkomen. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Ministry of roads, transport and public works--Kipchumba Murkomen

• Create incentives for adoption of electric mass transit systems in all cities and towns as promised by Ruto in manifesto
• Deal with the rising number of accidents on roads
• Prioritize upgrading and maintenance of rural access roads as pledged in manifesto
• Complete all roads under construction as promised in manifesto
• Conclude development of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit system
• Conclude tendering and development of Nairobi Light Rail system
• Address concerns about existing major roads that have been neglected e.g. old Mombasa Road
• Ensure success of SGR project as port operations revert to Mombasa and use of SGR for cargo is made optional

Lands, Housing and Urban Development CS Zacharia Njeru. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development-- Zachariah Mwangi Njeru

• Start and oversee settlement Fund to acquire land and resettle up to one million landless families as promised in manifesto
• Deliver new 250,000 affordable houses every year through public-private partnerships as is in manifesto
• Grow number of mortgages to one million as is in the manifesto
• Roll out incentives to developers to build more affordable houses
• Collapsing of buildings, a scare for urban dwellers and solution needed

Interior and National Administration CS nominee Prof. Kithure Kindiki. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Ministry of Interior and National Administration -Kithure Kindiki

• Operationalising financial autonomy of the National Police Service after transfer of their budget from the Office of the president
• Continued clamp down on extremist groups like Al-Shabab and Juvenile gangs
• Address insecurity in northern Kenya and cut proliferation of illegal firearms
• Find solution to security threats in volatile areas such as West Pokot, Baringo, Laikipia, Samburu and Marsabit
• Oversee completion of reforms in the security docket
• Actualize the setting up of contributory benevolent fund for families of fallen and terminal ill officers as pledged by Ruto manifesto
• Roll out insurance cover for loss of life on duty for all government
• Harmonization of affordable housing mortgage for officers in security docket

Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Nominee Alice Wahome. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Water, Sanitation and Irrigation--Alice Wahome

• Accelerating the implementation of water sector reforms
• There are increasing instances of drought and yet Kenya continues to rely on rain-fed farming
• Only 2% of arable land is under irrigation and this leaves many farmers exposed
• Confronting the stalled Galana-Kulalu irrigation project issue
• About 22 million people lack access to improved sanitation and national sewerage coverage is at 16%

Public Service & Gender Nominee Aisha Jumwa. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action- Aisha Jumwa

• Address issue of aging public service workforce
• Two-thirds gender rule in elective and appointive positions in public sector a sticky issue
• Ensuring 100% enforcement of the spousal consent legal provisions in land transactions as pledged in manifesto

Trade, Investment & Industry CS nominee Moses Kuria. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Trade, Investment and Industry-- Moses Kuria

• Ensuring roll out of Sh50 billion annually to support small businesses
• Business are complaining of multiple taxes across counties and in national govt and the CS will have to deal with this
• Suppliers and contractors are decrying the rising pending bills
• There is a rising number of informal and digital businesses that are angling for growth

Compiled by Standard Checkpoint