Address unease over Cabinet picks, save country agony

The uncertainty hanging over the reorganisation of the Government is not good for the country.

By delaying the naming of his Cabinet, two months after he was elected, President Kenyatta is not doing the country any good. In fact, the delay risks undermining his legacy.

Put it this way: A Cabinet is what gets governments functioning. The world over, a leader is defined by the Cabinet he assembles. The Cabinet advances the agenda of a sitting president.

Bearing in mind that after his swearing-in, Kenyatta decreed that those in office were not to execute any policy decisions, it is interesting that he has not seen the urgency to get this matter out of the way.

The President might want to imagine that he can bide his time; that four-and-a-half years is a long time. Yet in reality, there is much to be done, and little time to do it.

Besides the urge to get the country moving by fixing the economy, cure corruption, and, most importantly, sew the patchwork of the country’s fabric, which was torn apart by high-octane election politics, Kenyatta must surely know that Kenyans are eager to move on with their lives.

They want to know that someone is out there fixing the economy for them so that they or their children can get jobs once they graduate or addressing their healthcare, education, food, security, and housing concerns.

They also want to live unbothered by behind-the-scenes political machinations of power brokers out to share the spoils of the elections. Kenyans just want order and a sense of closure. So whatever it is that is holding back the formation of his Cabinet, Kenyatta must rise up to the occasion and resolve it.

In fact, perhaps NASA’s vow to go ahead with the planned swearing-in of its presidential candidate is a consequence of the stasis in government.

It could be that picking a Cabinet under the prevailing circumstances - where a balance of political and tribal interests carries more weight than, say, qualification, skills, and experience - is difficult, but then, the buck stops with one man: President Uhuru Kenyatta.