NAIROBI; KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday at State House Nairobi witnessed the swearing-in of the 26 Principal Secretaries following their vetting and approval by the National Assembly.
The Principal Secretaries sworn-in were Mr Mutea Iringo for Interior, Ms Josephta Mukobe (Co-ordination), Mr John Konchella (Devolution), Eng Peter Oganga Magiti (Planning), Amb Monica Kathina Juma (Defence), Eng Karanja Kibicho (Foreign Affairs), Dr Belio Kipsang (Education), Prof Colletta Suda (Science and Technology), Dr Kamau Thugge (National Treasury), Prof Fred H K Segor (Health), Mr Nduva Muli (Transport Services), Eng John Kipngetich Mosonik (Infrastructure), Mr James Teko Lopoyetum (Water), Mr Richard Lerisian Lesiyampe (Environment and Natural Resources) and Ms Mariamu El Maawy (Land, Housing and Urban Development).
Others were Mr Joseph Musuni Tiampaty (Information, Communication and Technology), Mr Patrick Omutia (Sports, Culture and the Arts), Ali Noor Ismail (Labour, Social Security and Services), Eng Joseph K. Njoroge (Energy and Petroleum), Sicily Kanini Kariuki (Agriculture), Dr Khadijah Kassachom (Livestock), Prof Japheth Micheni Ntiba (Fisheries), Dr Wilson Songa (Industrialisation and Enterprise Development), Mwanamaka Amani Mabruki (East African Community Affairs), Dr Ibrahim M Mohamed (Commerce and Tourism) and Amb Richard Ekai Titus (Mining).
Congratulating the Principal Secretaries on their appointment, President Uhuru urged them to work together closely and complement each in fulfilling their mandates.
The Head of State added that the Principal Secretaries must discharge their duties diligently and accountably in order to deliver the transformation of the country that Kenyans desire.
“My expectation is that you will neither disappoint me nor the people of Kenya,” President Kenyatta told thePrincipal Secretaries.
The President said the Principal Secretaries should also embrace the key values and principles of efficient, effective and economic use of resources; responsive, impartial and equitable provision of services; accountability for administrative acts; transparency and provision of timely and accurate information to the public.
President Uhuru emphasised that the responsibility of ensuring that the Government is highly effective lies squarely in the hands of the Principal Secretaries and their respective Cabinet Secretaries.
In this regard, the Head of State urged the Principal Secretaries to work closely with and render their full support to their respective Cabinet Secretaries so that the Government can run seamlessly and deliver services to the people.
Competence
Reiterating his pledged to focus on quality service delivery and efficient utilisation of public resources as the basis of national development, the President pointed out that to achieve that goal, competent, experienced and hard working men and women of integrity are required.
“As the appointing authority, I took painstaking efforts to recommend to Parliament the best people in the positions that best suit their competencies,” the President said.
To enhance the efficiency of public service institutions, President Uhuru said the Principal Secretariesshould put in place systems and processes that will ensure efficient service delivery, including service charters and performance contracts.
He stated that his Government will pay keen attention to the implementation of performance contracting, warning that public servants who fail to deliver on performance targets will be sacked.
“As the people in charge of State Departments, you are expected to ensure public finances and assets under your dockets are used transparently, accountably and strictly for the intended purposes. You must, therefore, institute immediate measures to seal all corruption loopholes and ensure that maximum value is derived from every tax shilling for the benefit of our people,” the President told thePrincipal Secretaries.
Service delivery
Noting that the Principal Secretaries are assuming office at a time when the new Constitution is being implemented, President Kenyatta said they should provide visionary leadership in aligning their departments with the requirements of the Constitution.
The President also called on the Principal Secretaries to ensure that service delivery is customer-oriented, saying close attention must be paid to ordinary citizens who are the customers and beneficiaries of public services.
On their part, President Uhuru said Kenyans should join hands in fighting corruption. He said wananchi must particularly monitor the use of finances devolved to the counties.
“We must do all we can to ensure corruption is not devolved and thereby multiplied 47 times over. Should this happen, then the prospects for the development of our country will be very bleak indeed,” President Kenyatta said.
The President appealed to all those doing business with the national and county governments to observe high levels of integrity in order to ensure the available scarce resources are used prudently and productively for the good of the country and people.-standardmedia.co.ke
