Kobia: Administrative secretaries to bring efficiency to Cabinet

The newly-created positions of Chief Administrative Secretary are critical and will help bring efficiency in the Cabinet secretaries’ performance of their jobs, the nominee for minister in charge of the Public Service has said.

Prof Margaret Kobia has told the Committee on Appointments that the positions were created in consultation with the Public Service Commission as provided for in the Constitution.

Speaking during her vetting on Thursday, Prof Kobia said the retirement age for civil servants will remain 60 years.

PROTESTS

She spoke as a group of non-governmental organisations protested against the nominations and the creation of the positions, most of which are occupied by politicians who lost in the elections last year.

The administrative secretaries are viewed as modern-day assistant ministers brought in not only to reward loyalists but provide Cabinet secretaries with assistants who can help manage the ministry and fight the political battles that are bound to come up.

FIRST FOR VETTING

Prof Kobia was first to face the National Assembly team chaired by Speaker Justin Muturi and which was boycotted by members of the National Super Alliance, with even its default members of the committee, Minority Leader John Mbadi and Whip Junet Mohammed, quitting.

She also admitted that 86 percent of the 240,000 jobs in Public Service Commission have been taken up by six major ethnic communities in the country as per the recent PSC report.

She, however, said, "We will ensure harmonisation is done to address the issue.

“With 30 percent of the PSC staff expected to retire in the next two years, the marginalized groups will be given priority to serve," she said.

INTEGRITY

She also said that she has no any integrity-related issues and that she has never worked anywhere where funds have been misappropriated.

After Prof Kobia came John Munyes, the nominee for the ministry of Petroleum and Mining, and Monica Juma, who was nominated to step up from Principal Secretary to Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Mr Munyes said he will review the licensing regime for oil blocks in the country if appointed CS.

"We intend to deliver oil by 2021 and construct a pipeline from Lokichar in Turkana to Lamu," he said, noting that the Sh7.5 billion meant for airborne survey, mapping and data collection will help the country in mineral exploration.

UN VOTE

Ms Juma defended Kenya's absence on the UN vote over the transfer of US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem saying that the Kenyan mission in Israel had closed for holidays by the time it was called.

"The fact that the motion on the vote was called within 24 hours made it difficult for Kenya to participate in the voting," she said.

She has also defended Kenya's role in the region saying that it has not diminished despite policy challenges with her neighbours.