I’m a national leader: CS Machogu tells Kisii politicians
Cabinet Secretary for Education Ezekiel Machogu.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has told off some leaders from Gusii region for supposedly dragging him into what he termed as “petty politics.”
Mr Machogu said he is a national leader who has been given a mandate by President William Ruto to deliver on education matters.
Speaking in Kisii and Nyamira counties on Tuesday when he toured various, the CS noted that he is busy serving the country and did not want to be distracted in any way.
“I come from this region, but please know that I am not in competition with anybody. If it is an MCA, he or she has a mandate to serve people. If it is a Member of Parliament, he or she also has a mandate. The mandate of any given individual is not to abuse others,” said Mr Machogu.
“Leaders should not be engaging in abuses. Machogu will not be engaging in village politics because I have a national agenda. I must succeed in that agenda. The Kenya Kwanza administration has an agenda.”
He added, “Amongst our agendas is not to hurl abuses and engage in useless talks. Ours is to ensure we deliver on our objectives. Our people, get focused and let’s support the government of the day.”
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He called on Kisii residents to support President Ruto’s government.
“Kindly support the initiatives being made by the government because it is through those programs that we can be able to generate employment opportunities for our people. That is our purpose,” said Mr Machogu as he supported the Finance Bill 2023.
Mr Machogu toured Nyabururu Girls High School in Kisii County, Tombe Girls and Nyambaria Boys in Nyamira County. He was accompanied by ICT CS Eliud Owalo.
The Education CS was responding to constant accusations by Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi that he (Mr Machogu) had failed his Gusii community by not securing many teaching positions for its sons and daughters in the recent countrywide recruitment.
Mr Kibagendi has emerged as Machogu’s severest critic in Gusii and has been using each and every available opportunity in public to hit out at the CS, saying he had failed his people.
Though it is the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC) that deals with teacher’s employment issues, Mr Kibagendi said that the CS being the head of the ministry has a lot of influence on how the positions are distributed..
Speaking last Friday at Cardinal Otunga High School, Mosocho, during a thanksgiving ceremony to celebrate the school’s worthy performance of its 2022 class, Mr Kibagendi said it cannot be business as usual when the community gets very few opportunities despite having one of their own at the helm.
“The government employed close to 46, 000 teachers recently. Kisii and Nyamira counties have the highest concentration of trained teachers but in that recruitment, we received the least number of tutors employed by the TSC. Yet the person in charge of the education docket is none other than him who hails from here,” Mr Kibagendi said.
Mr Machogu noted that the government through the national treasury had released Sh28 million capitation money for senior and junior secondary schools.
“This money will be disbursed in the form of capitation any time before Friday. The money should be in your respective accounts before then. The fear and anxiety that principals have had should be no more,” said Mr Machogu.
