By EDITH FORTUNATE efortunate@ke.nationmedia.com AND DAVE OPIYO dopiyo@ke.nationmedia.com Wednesday, May 15 2013
In Summary
- The Budget, implementation of the Jubilee manifesto and ensuring the achievement of Vision 2030 are also likely to feature.
- The structure adopted Wednesday reduced the previous 44 ministries to 18.
- The proposed civil service structure will be implemented and tried for five years. It is also meant to absorb different commissions into parent ministries.
- Only 15 of the 16 Cabinet Secretaries so far named were sworn in. The nominee for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Amina Mohammed, had travelled out of the country to hand over her previous
The 15 Cabinet secretaries sworn in Wednesday are Thursday morning expected to attend their first meeting.
Top
on the agenda is likely to be a briefing on the new structures in their
dockets. The President and his deputy might also take the opportunity
to lay down performance expectations for each.
The Budget, implementation of the Jubilee manifesto and ensuring the achievement of Vision 2030 are also likely to feature.
Presiding over the swearing-in at State House, Nairobi, Wednesday, Mr Kenyatta told the appointees to hit the ground running.
Only
a day after their appointments were upheld by Parliament, the President
told the secretaries: “We must perform. Kenyans want a positive
transformation in their social and economic lives.
“You
should be transparent and impartial in dispensing your duties and
management of the national resources... It’s time to deliver on their
expectations.”
The appointees were driven to their
offices straight from State House and were briefed on pending business
by their respective permanent secretaries.
Sources said
Mr Kenyatta speeded up the swearing-in to ensure that the Cabinet
Secretaries have more time to implement some of the 100-day promises he
made during the campaigns.
“Mr Kenyatta’s government
has already lost 36 days and thus the reason why he moved to have the
secretaries sworn in with immediate effect,” said a source.
Two dockets still have no secretaries and these are expected to be named Thursday.
The structure adopted Wednesday reduced the previous 44 ministries to 18.
The
transition committee, which formulated principles that created the
post-Kibaki administration, gave a preview of the new structure which is
in line with the Constitution.
In an earlier
interview, chairman of the committee Francis Kimemia said the enhanced
line-up would comprise principal and senior deputy secretaries.
“We
will have senior deputy secretaries, especially those who will have
qualified as principal secretaries but will not have taken up those
positions. They will head the departments in the specific ministries,”
Mr Kimemia said.
The new structure was part of the
briefings Mr Kenyatta received when he was declared President-elect. He
used the bulk of the recommendations to collapse the 44 ministries into
18.
“We have worked out a framework on the briefing,
especially on the ministries and government business,” Mr Kimemia who is
now Secretary to the Cabinet nominee.
The proposed
civil service structure will be implemented and tried for five years. It
is also meant to absorb different commissions into parent ministries.
The
Attorney-General’s office has been renamed to the Department of
Justice. The office of the Solicitor General and Director of Public
Prosecutions will fall under this office.
Agriculture, Interior, Education, Mining, National Treasury,
Devolution and ICT are some of the powerful ministries that will get
senior deputy secretaries to head departments.
The Ministry of Interior and Coordination of
National Government will cater for security, the national intelligence
service (NIS), Immigration, the Executive secretariat, intergovernmental
affairs, Inspector-General of Police, legislative and public affairs;
the Government spokesman and the youth.
The Agriculture ministry will take charge of 40
State functions and have control over 42 State corporations, making it
the largest portfolio. It will also take charge of livestock and
fisheries.
Education will have the department of Education and Science and Technology. It will also incorporate higher education.
The Health ministry will have two departments: Public health and medical services.
The National Treasury has been strengthened to
ensure proper coordination between it, the Central Bank and the Kenya
Revenue Authority.
Devolution and planning will take care of county
governments, Vision 2030, the national bureau of statistics, risk
management and the census department.
Only 15 of the 16 Cabinet Secretaries so far named
were sworn in. The nominee for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Amina Mohammed,
had travelled out of the country to hand over her previous office at the
UN.
President Kenyatta asked the new appointees to
commit to meeting the expectations of all Kenyans as well as serving
them diligently.
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