Sunday, June 16, 2013

Kisii leaders up in arms over State jobs

Posted by: The People in Political  0 592 Views

Kisii leaders now say the decision to largely leave the community out of the Jubilee administration will have future political consequences. Speaking days after President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, named 26 principal secretaries, the leaders led by former Foreign Affairs minister Sam Ongeri, lamented it was the first time since independence that a member of the community has not been named to the position, formerly referred to as permanent secretary. Despite Uhuru and Ruto’s position that appointments to the Jubilee governments are apolitical, the Ongeri group says the two have so far failed to reward their efforts that delivered more than 25 percent of the presidential vote in a hostile region. According to them, while competence and integrity have largely been the yardstick in the appointment of Cabinet secretaries and principal secretaries, political rewards have been evident in the case of Charity Ngilu, Najib Balala and Kazungu Kambi, who like Ongeri were in the lead of the Jubilee campaigns in their respective regions. They noted that after Maasai leaders complained the president and his deputy appointed Joseph ole Lenku as Cabinet secretary for the powerful Interior and Coordination of National Government docket and also picked two nominees for principal secretary from Narok to balance the equation. The leaders said the appointment of Dr Fred Matiangi as Information and Communications Cabinet secretary does not MAKUENI It is surprising that instead of being rewarded, they have instead being pushed into the political cold assuage them since his political stand is not known, adding the choice was least expected because he has never been involved in addressing the problems facing the community either politically or otherwise. Ongeri, who lost the Kisii senatorial race, alleged some external forces were out to antagonise the community so that in the next elections they do not vote for Jubilee. Deeply involved He argues the Kisii community cannot be ignored in any government and warned those doing so were working for their own downfall politically. “The Kisiis were fully and deeply involved in bringing the Jubilee government to power. It is surprising that instead of being rewarded, they have instead being pushed into the political cold,” he noted. The former minister said the community’s population size also puts it at a position which cannot be underrated when it comes to deciding who should to be the next president of this country. Ongeri says the community was not crying for being left but is looking out for justice. The former Nyaribari Masaba MP said it was disappointing that regions which never gave the Jubilee coalition support were the ones now reaping most from it. He was apparently referring to the appointment of Rachel Omamo as Defence Cabinet secretary and the nomination of Prof Colletta Akinyi Suda and Monica Kathina Juma as Science and Technology and Defence principal secretary nominees respectively. Federal Party of Kenya National Director of Elections Justus Rugusu said it was wrong for the Jubilee government to leave the community out of the principal secretary nominees list yet some got as many as three. ”How can one community get three slots of principal secretaries as if other communities have no professionals to be appointed to the positions ?” Rasugu posed. Rasugu said what the community was crying for is its rightful share and not favours. A section of professionals from the community, who campaigned for Jubilee, say the move could lock out Uhuru from Kisii politics come the next General Election. They noted that since the times of Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki, the Kisii community has never been left out and called on political leaders from the community to bury their political differences and come together to address the issue.

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