Monica Juma moves 117 Nairobi staff to Kenya's foreign missions
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma. The ministry has deployed 117 officers stationed in Nairobi to Kenya's foreign mission. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
In a letter dated May 23, Ms Juma said the officers will serve for a period of four years.
The Ministry of Foreign affairs has deployed 117 Kenyans from its headquarters in Nairobi to serve in the country's foreign missions.
The officers will report to their news stations from June 15, according to the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma.
In a letter dated May 23, Ms Juma said the officers will serve for a period of four years.
“You are reminded that foreign service abroad is temporary assignment with specific time bound responsibilities and duties. The tour can be varied depending on performance exigencies of duty and prevailing service regulations such as performance, operational needs in the mission or headquarters, retirement age while on posting or indiscipline,” she said.
GRAFT
The move comes at a time the government is grappling with corruption scandals involving public institutions.
In 2016, the Auditor-General reported that several foreign missions could not account for visa stickers and passports worth Sh1.5 billion, reflecting the poor record keeping in embassies raising concerns of fraudulent dealings.
The report said the Department of Immigration only accounted for Sh1.5 billion passports and stickers against documents worth Sh2.9 billion delivered to the embassies in two years.
Ms Juma said the officers will be trained and cleared by the Foreign Service Academy (FSA) after satisfactory evaluation.
POSTS
She says the new posting have “been agreed upon” but did not give more details. The plight of officers serving in the affected stations has not been established either.
The officers will serve as Ministers to Kenyan Embassies, High Commissions, consulates (counsellor I and counsellor II) and permanent missions to United Nations aid agencies such as Unesco.
Others will take up the positions of labour attachés, secretaries, immigration attachés, chief records management officers, administrative attachés and financial attachés.
According to the order by Ms Juma, they will serve under the Heads of Mission in the respective countries that they have been posted.
However, the officers will continue with their current duties until the date they will officially be released to report to their new stations.
