Monday, November 19, 2018 20:49 — Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was preparing to announce a fresh county cabinet after the contracts of most Nairobi County executives expired in early November.
Acting County Secretary Pauline Kahiga told the County Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee that some of the affected officials had been given short extensions of one month as the governor readied a wider overhaul. She said Finance executive Allan Igambi had been renewed for only one month, with a cabinet announcement expected within the next week.
“His (Finance executive Allan Igambi’s) contract has been renewed for a period of one month in anticipation of a cabinet announcement by the governor which will happen in the next one week,” said Ms Kahiga on Thursday last week.
Ms Kahiga added that the extension letters were not uniform across the executive team. “I can confirm that the executives have their letters but they are not all for the same extension period. The contracts have been extended for one month which within the period we expect a cabinet announcement from the Governor,” she said.
Three executives who appeared before the committee — Lands executive Charles Kerich, Transport boss Mohamed Dagane and Education and Sports executive Janet Ouko — confirmed they had received extension letters.
The County Public Service Board had already moved to advertise five county executive vacancies last month. Board chair Philip Kung’u said all county executives had originally signed one-year contracts when they were hired, and those contracts were due to lapse in November 2018.
Mr Kung’u said the board received 99 applications for the five positions and had forwarded its report to the governor. He said the next step now rested with Mr Sonko.
“Once we send them to him, it is up to him to decide how he wants to deal with the process. If he wants to appoint a panel to look through the applications and give him recommendation, that he can do. If he wants the Board to do it then he can also ask the same of the board. Ours was just to do the advert, receive applications and forward the same to him,” said Mr Kung’u yesterday.
The uncertainty over the contracts had already drawn concern from ward representatives, who last week demanded clarity from the governor after reports that some executives could be serving illegally. The MCAs said the situation risked disrupting service delivery in the capital.
They also threatened to stop “transacting business with people who do not have valid contract” unless they were shown documents proving the officials were lawfully in office.
The County Public Service Board’s advert, the short extensions and the pending decision from the governor now point to a major reshuffle in Nairobi County’s executive team.
