Roundup: Kenyan president drops 6 ministers in cabinet reshuffle

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday dropped six cabinet secretaries accused of corruption as he announced far reaching changes in his government aimed at injecting efficiency in the public service.

In a televised address to the nation, Kenyatta increased ministries from 19 to 20 and State departments were also increased from 26 to 41 to be headed by principal secretaries (PS).

"I expect that this change will allow cabinet secretaries to focus better on their deliverables by eliminating some of the overlap that existed before and also through giving increased focus to important areas that will drive our economic growth," he said.

In the new changes, Kenyatta replaced Anne Waiguru in the Devolution and Planning Ministry with former assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri. Waiguru resigned on Saturday citing medical reasons after being accused of corruption at her ministry.

Kenyatta also nominated Joe Mucheru, a founder of internet service provider, Wananchi Online, and a past Head of Google in Kenya as ICT Cabinet secretary.

Hassan Wario, Amina Mohamed and Joseph Nkaissery retained the sports, foreign affairs and Interior dockets while Phyllis Kandie was moved from the ministry of tourism to the ministry of labour and social services.

Kenyatta says the move will spur growth and economic development by improving public service delivery.

Other new faces are Senator Charles Keter who was nominated as cabinet secretary for energy and petroleum, and Willy Kibet, who was nominated as agriculture cabinet secretary.

Najib Balala was moved from the ministry of mining to tourism in the changes in which president Kenyatta has called on Parliament to speed up the vetting of the new government officials.

Only five women have been included in the 20 ministerial dockets, translating to 25 percent, which doesn't meet constitutional gender threshold.

Nairobi Hospital CEO Cleopha Mailu is the new CS for Health, while James Macharia is the new Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure.

On the State Departments, the most notable changes are the swapping of Karanja Kibicho from Foreign Affairs with Monicah Juma in the Department of Interior.

Director of Medical Services Nicholas Muraguri is the nominated Principal Secretary for Health, while former Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Betty Maina is the nominated PS for East African Integration, and Fatuma Hersi, the nominee PS for tourism.

"I am now requesting the National Assembly to fast track the vetting and approval of those persons who are newly nominated as Cabinet and Principal Secretaries so that my team and I can get down to work as soon as possible," said the president.

Kenyatta said the changes will enhance the efficiency of the public service which will be achieved through fast tracking the adoption of technology, improving processes to reduce red tape, providing for better oversight and leadership at each level of government administration.

He said the changes will also ensure the accountability of public officials in the discharge of their mandate by implementing the new Public Procurement legislation, better delineation of roles and responsibilities as relates to public expenditure and giving the necessary power and responsibility to accounting officers to make better decisions on budget management.

Kenyatta promised to announce a reorganization of the Executive Office of The President soon in order to create the necessary structures for the effective coordination of his government and to improve his own ability to serve the Kenyan people more effectively. Enditem