PSC to receive new application for top positions

By Moses Njagih and Vitalis Kimutai

NAIROBI, KENYA: A fresh row over Government jobs erupted on Thursday evening following the decision by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to reopen applications for Principal Secretaries.

The re-advertisement will occasion a delay for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime to appoint Principal Secretaries and means Permanent Secretaries from the former administration will be in office much longer.

The Constitution stipulates a competitive process of their appointment to office, which starts with a recommendation for appointment from the Public Service Commission.

 Sources revealed to The Standard that though the Commission had started shortlisting candidates for the positions, political intrigues had led to the re-advertisement of the positions to bring on board some technocrats, who had not applied for the positions.

The source revealed that there were some technocrats, mainly from the private sector, that President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy William Ruto had earmarked for appointment to the positions, but who had not applied, and could not be recommended for appointments.

Uhuru and Ruto are expected to name Cabinet secretaries ahead of the appointment of Principal Secretaries for Parliament to vet the appointees.

In the URP side former assistant minister James Koskei, and former Communication Minister Samwel Phogisio are among the front runners for Cabinet positions.

Mr Davis Chirchir, the URP Secretary General, businessmen David Langat and Silas Simotwo have also been mentioned as possible candidates for cabinet secretaries.

In TNA, those who have been mentioned for Cabinet positions include former Finance Minister Njeru Githae, Director General Vision 2030 Dr Mugo Kibati, Barclays Bank Chief Executive Aden Mohamed, and Transport Permanent Secretary Cyrus Njiru.

Prof Nyagah Kindiki, a policy analyst and lecturer at Moi University said that the re-advertisement of the Principal Secretaries positions would give a chance to more professionals to apply.

“Many people had high expectations of being appointed to the position of Cabinet secretary, but the reality is dawning on majority of them that it would be difficult to accommodate all of them owing to the limited positions,” Kindiki said.

Given lifeline

Kindiki said that as a result, a number of them, including those who were defeated in the General Election, had gotten a lifeline with the re-advertised positions as it gives them a window.

 The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) has protested the re-advertisement of the positions and demanded it be revoked and all the names of those who had previously applied for the positions be published.

But the Commission on Thursday dismissed the claims as false, insisting that the re-advertisement had nothing to do with the outcome of the elections or under the influence of those elected to power.

 The Commission Chairperson Margaret Kobia insisted that the Commission was independent. She rubbished claims the shortlisting and interviewing of applicants had been held by political intrigues.

 “This is an independent Commission and not even the President can influence how we conduct our business. We cannot stop our process under the influence of anyone or an office,” said Prof Kobia.

 The Chairperson further cautioned that it would be ill for the President and his Deputy to appoint anyone to the position of Principal Secretaries, without having them recommended by the Commission.

 “That is now the law as it is. The names must, according to the Constitution, come from the PSC,” she said.

 She said that the Commission, operating under the constitutional mandate granted to it through Section 155(3) of the Constitution, had re-advertised the position to give more people the opportunity to apply for the job.

Kobia said that many Kenyans did not know of the shift from the former process of the appointment to the office, and had thus not applied or seen the earlier adverts for the position.

New appointing system

 “We only wanted to give many people the opportunity because many Kenyans do not know of the shift from the former order when the president would unilaterally appoint whoever he wished without them undergoing any shortlisting,” she said.

 The PSC revealed that they had, from the previous advertisements, received 1,301 applications from interested Kenyans, ranging from Permanent Secretaries, heads of State corporations, senior Government officials and technocrats in private sector.

Kobia said by April 20, they will publish names of 122 shortlisted candidates.

“In case the President will want to treat the appointments in a more urgent manner, then we will give him the names of the 122 shortlisted, but if time would allow us, we would conduct interviews to come up with 66 candidates, three for each of the 22 Cabinet positions,” she explained.

Bureti MP Leonard Sang (URP) said that Uhuru and Ruto were keen on accommodating professionals in the impending appointments and that majority of them had not applied for the positions when they were advertised because they were busy with the campaigns.

Sang said that women and youth should be encouraged to seek senior Government positions and participate in changing the society for the better.

“I do not think the idea is to accommodate the politicians as the principals have so many ways of taking care of those who were defeated in the General Election.

There are many positions to be filled in Government,” Eldama Ravine MP Moses Lessonet said.

A number of professionals and politicians are lined up for appointment to the Cabinet, with the President and Deputy President said to be working on the list expected to be released latest next week on Monday.

Stephen Mutoro, Cofek secretary general, wrote to PSC Chairperson saying it appeared the Commission wishes to favor some preferred candidates who may not have applied earlier.