CS vetting: Linturi, Namwamba, Machogu, Miano and Owalo face questioning by MPs
From left Cabinet Secretary nominees: Rebecca Miano (EAC), Ababu Namwamba (Sports), Eliud Owalo (ICT), Mithika Linturi (Agriculture) and Ezekiel Machogu (Education).
What you need to know:
- Linturi’s life for the past decade has been full of controversies, which will be at the centre of his vetting.
- The nominee for EAC docket, Ms Miano, is among the few technocrats who will be in President Ruto’s Cabinet if she is approved.
- If the National Assembly approves the appointment of Namwamba as Sports CS, he will be making a comeback to a docket which he managed a decade ago.
Linturi’s eye on the prize despite litany of lawsuits
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary nominee Mithika Linturi.
Mr Franklin Mithika Linturi’s life for the past decade has been full of controversies, which will be at the centre of his vetting today when he appears before Parliament’s Committee on Appointments.
The Agriculture Cabinet nominee has been in courts since 2012 on different charges, ranging from abdicating his parental responsibilities to attempted rape.
In August 2012, a woman sued Mr Linturi for abandoning her and their three-year-old son.
In November 2017, the University of Nairobi de-registered his 2014 law degree, after it was discovered that he presented fake papers when enrolling for the course.
However, the High Court overturned the university’s decision, terming it illegal.
In October 2018, Mr Linturi’s househelp died mysteriously. There were claims that she was hurriedly buried without a post-mortem examination being performed.
At one point, Mr Linturi was accused of forging signatures to secure a loan from Family Bank.
If he is cleared, he will be leading a docket that is at the centre of President William Ruto’s plan to turn around the economy through increased production.
With the return of subsidised fertiliser, which had been infiltrated by cartels in previous regimes, Mr Linturi will be questioned on how he intends to dismantle the groups that benefit at the expense of farmers.
Following the admission of President Ruto that the Ukraine-Russia war has had a burnt effect on the cost of farm inputs, Mr Linturi will be required to explain how to steady the supply of fertiliser and other farm inputs.
Miano faces hard queries on regional matters
East African Community Cabinet Secretary nominee Rebecca Miano.
The nominee for East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development docket, Ms Rebecca Miano, is among the few technocrats who will be in President William Ruto’s Cabinet if she is approved. Ms Miano, a lawyer, has experience of almost two decades in the corporate world.
Her vetting today by the Committee on Appointments comes at a time when the national government is embroiled in fights with counties over the control of regional development authorities (RDAs) since the inception of devolution.
Ms Miano will have to explain how she intends to solve the incessant push-and-pull.
She is likely to be asked to explain what she will do differently to instil public confidence in these institutions.
With Ms Miano having served as the managing director of Kengen and other parastatals, she is likely to be put to task to enumerate some of the achievements in the dockets she has held and, most probably, why the cost of power is still high.
Farmers have complained over the years due to the flooding of local markets with products from Tanzania and Uganda, Ms Miano will have to assure the country that she will take steps to solve this delicate situation without Kenya being accused of promoting the trade deficit with her peers.
Kenya is said not to have fully exploited the East African Community (EAC) market, another challenge for Ms Miano if she is approved to run the ministry.
She will be required to tell the country what she will do that was not done by the previous administrations to make the country access these markets.
Machogu’s tough test on new system of education
Cabinet Secretary for Education nominee Ezekiel Machogu.
When Ezekiel Machogu Ombaki appears before the National Assembly to defend his suitability for appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Education, he will be bidding to steer one of the key ministries in government.
The Ministry of Education is so strategic to the development of the country that it receives 25 per cent of the national budget.
Mr Machogu is a career administrator who has served as a district officer, district commissioner and senior deputy secretary before being elected as MP for Nyaribari Masaba Constituency.
He will be in charge of policy affecting more than 16 million learners.
President William Ruto has appointed a working party to recommend reforms in the sector and hand over a report after six months. The implementation of the competency-based curriculum has been controversial.
Closely tied to the reforms will be the funding of basic education, which, despite being free at the policy level, negatively affects children from poor households.
Capitation for primary school, particularly, has remained the same since 2003 despite inflation over the years.
If approved, Mr Machogu will be thrown into the deep end of managing three national examinations next month for learners transiting from Grade Six, Class Eight and Form Four.
Over the past six years, exam cheating has been curbed by his predecessors, Dr Fred Matiang’i and Prof George Magoha.
He must ensure that the country does not slide back down the shameful path. The double intake in secondary schools next year will also be a challenge to the CS.
Will Owalo fix ailing state firms in ICT docket?
Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary nominee Eliud Owalo.
If his nomination as Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary is approved by the National Assembly, Mr Eliud Owalo will be the face of President William Ruto’s digital economy push.
The digital economy, as well as the creative economy, are central to Dr Ruto’s five-year plan.
Mr Owalo came into the political limelight in 2013, when he was tapped to head Mr Raila Odinga’s campaign secretariat under the then Coalition for Reforms and Democracy.
Mr Owalo was a close ally of Mr Odinga, until he was denied the Orange Democratic Movement ticket for the Kibra MP seat in 2017.
As he appears before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments this morning, he will likely be challenged to explain how he plans to restore the glory of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, a promise made by President Ruto during the campaigns.
Mr Owalo may also be asked to comment on media freedom and the controversial Government Advertising Agency, which was launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration ostensibly to serve as a one-stop advertising hub for all state agencies, ministries and departments. Critics have termed it a ploy to curtail media freedom.
Mr Owalo will likely face questions on data security and cybercrime, especially after more than 264,000 mobile phone users were deregistered on the orders of the Communication Authority of Kenya to curb fraud.
If the National Assembly ratifies his appointment, Mr Owalo will take charge of two loss-making parastatals, Posta and Telkom Limited.
Football crisis in sharp focus as Namwamba takes hot seat
Sports and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary nominee Ababu Namwamba.
If the National Assembly approves the appointment of Mr Ababu Namwamba as Sports and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary, he will be making a comeback to a docket which he managed a decade ago.
Mr Namwamba was Sports minister during the Grand Coalition Government of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and former President Mwai Kibaki.
After his inauguration as President, Dr William Ruto created a State Department of Youth and put Mr Namwamba in charge of actualising the Kenya Kwanza Alliance’s vision for the youth.
Under the Youth department will be the multibillion-shilling National Youth Service, the Kenya National Youth Council, the Youth Advisory Board, the Kenya Association of Youth Centres and the Kenya National Innovation Agency.
NYS has in the past been a bedrock of corruption scandals, and Mr Namwamba will likely be pressed to explain how he intends to turn it around and plug the loopholes through which its funds are pilfered.
If his nomination is approved, the former Budalang’i MP will be taking over the sports docket at a time when the country is faced with a lot of challenges, including the suspension of Kenya by Fifa, a move that has seen Harambee Stars miss out on the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 qualifiers.
Mr Namwamba will also likely be questioned on athletics, particularly on increased cases of doping, with 30 Kenyan athletes having been flagged for such offences.
He will also likely be asked to detail what he plans to do to ensure stalled stadia projects across the country are completed.
