President Uhuru Kenyatta has begun the process of sacking Principal Secretaries (PSs) for failing to comply with his executive order on e-procurement.
The President’s Chief of Staff Joseph Kinyua has already written to all PSs and accounting officers, including CEOs of constitutional commissions and independent offices, asking them to show cause why they should not be removed from office or disciplined.
Most of the officers have failed to comply with the Presidential Executive Order No 6 of 2015 issued on March 6 and a Treasury Circular No. 6/2015 issued on May 7.
Mr Kinyua’s letter dated May 22, which The Standard has seen, states that following a review of State Department of Transport’s performance, it had been noted with great concern by the presidency that between March 20, 2015 and May 20, 2015, the PS and accounting officers had failed to comply with the order.
The letter follows the President’s verbal warning mid this month that PSs face the risk of losing their jobs if their ministries don’t fully adopt the system within a week.
“In view of this flagrant disregard for institutionalised best practice procedures for the management of public finances, you are hereby given seven calendar days from the date of this letter to show cause why your designation as an accounting officer should not be withdrawn and disciplinary action commenced in accordance with section 74 of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act of 2012,” the letter states.
The warning comes at a time that the Public Service Commission has begun conducting interviews for the PS positions, an indicator that the President may eventually drop some of the non-performing officers. Among those who may be hard hit are Solicitor General Njee Muturi and PSs Joseph Njoroge (Energy), Belio Kipsang (Education), Colleta Suda (Higher Education), Wilfred Songa (Industrialisation), Cecily Kariuki (Agriculture), Dr Khadijah Kassachon (Health), Ali Noor (Labour), John Mosonik (Infrastructure) and their suspended colleagues Nduva Muli (Transport), James Lopoyetum Teko (Water) and Prof Ntiba Micheni (Fisheries).
State Department of Agriculture has only complied at 0.46 per cent, Transport at 0.69 per cent, Energy and Petroleum at 2.36 per cent, Infrastructure at 2.45 per cent, Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) at 2.51 per cent, basic education at 3.92 per cent, Higher Education, Science and Technology at 5.11 per cent, Industrialisation and enterprise at 6 per cent, Fisheries at 6.3 per cent, Labour at 6.69 per cent, State Law Office at 7.43 per cent and Health at 11.89 per cent.
The e-procurement was launched on August 13 last year by President Kenyatta, and the Government has been showcasing it as a milestone in efforts to reduce wastage and graft in the use of public resources. The circular on e-procurement was was copied to the President, Cabinet secretaries, Attorney General, Auditor General, Head of Budget, governors and County Executives in charge of Finance.
State Departmental for Water, Independent Police Oversight Authority, Parliamentary Service Commission, Auditor General, National Land Commission, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Commission on Implementation of the Constitution and graft agency led the pack of those who have failed to comply fully with the directive, according to a sample of top 20 non-compliant entities.
