Newly appointed Cabinet Secretaries must sustain spirit of new law

NAIROBI, KENYA: As the Cabinet Secretaries take office after their being approved by Parliament, it would be important for them to be reminded that Kenya is at a turning point in public service and that in rewriting the Constitution, the public sought an efficient civil service.

At the height of the decadence of leadership in public service, Cabinet ministers — who were appointed from Parliament —  were treated as small gods and they, having the ear of the president and enjoying the trappings of power were an institution unto themselves. They hired relatives and used State jobs and contract to reward political cronies; defied accounting officers; grabbed public property under their stewardship; issued executive fiat that were not grounded in law; and generally made decisions and engaged in actions that bred impunity, stifled innovation and promoted inefficiency.