Kirinyaga county assembly has unanimously approved the appointment of county secretary nominee Henry Kimathi and the chairperson county Public Service Board nominee Teddy Muchiri.
The county assembly on Monday termed the duo as ‘qualified and knowledgeable for the jobs’.
The MCAs were optimistic the new chairperson of the County Public Service Board will help in staffing departments, audit and streamline the staff register to ensure there are no ghost workers.
Murinduko MCA Charles Nyamu expects that Muchiri will install a system that will help prevent having ghost workers.
Thomas Muriuki, Mukure MCA, said there are so many vacant positions in the county which should be filled soon to improve service delivery.
“I would wish that when he gets into the office, he does a headcount first, maybe to work on the ghost workers and also to know about the equal and fair distribution of jobs and opportunities,” he said.
Bernard Gichangi (nominated) said Muchiri being a clinical officer, will streamline health issues and look into issues of doctors’ welfare and training.
“The Health department is in crisis. We need to employ consultants because even after the opening of the Level 5 hospital, we still have shortages in our dispensaries and health centres,” he said.
“We still need to employ enforcement officers, after the passing of the enforcement bill. So there is need for us to have a chairperson,” he said.
Irene Gathuku (nominated) said she expect that every part of the county will be considered during hiring of county staff and consider the 30 per cent requirement from outside the county.
But Majority leader Muriithi Kibinga was quick to downplay claims of existence of ghost workers in the county.
However, he welcomed any move to verify the number of staff in the county.
MCA Gichangi while moving the approval motion for the county secretary nominee said during his vetting, Kimathi pledged to address the complaints by casual workers.
He will also solve the issue of CECs not responding to correspondences from the county assembly.
Gichangi is the chairman of the public service and administration committee at the assembly.
“He [Kimathi] assured us that he is going to make sure that all the CECs, chief officers and directors make responses to the assembly,” Gichangi said.
MCA for Kieni Geoffrey Gakuru termed the county secretary office as crucial as it coordinates the activities of the county government and that during vetting, Kimathi proved that he is the right person for the job.
“Having been months before we filled that vacancy, it is the right time now so that our departments can be coordinated well,” he said.
Jeremiah Makini, Kariti MCA, said Kimathi’s communication and presentation was above board.
James Wambu (Kangai) said he has wealth of knowledge and experience on matters of governance having worked as a civil servant, serving the country in various capacities.
Kimathi is currently serving as the Kirinyaga county directorate of Early Childhood Development and Education.
Lucy Mwaniki (nominated) termed him as an excellent communicator, good listener and a good decision maker.
“He has passed all the requirements of Chapter Six, that is leadership and integrity, and indeed a county secretary is supposed to be a person of good leadership skills and a person of integrity,” she said.
Kimathi, is a Certified Public Secretary, has a Masters Degree in strategic management from Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Moi University.
The position of chairperson of the County Public Service Board is held for a non-renewable term of six years while that of the County Secretary has no specific security of tenure as the duration of service is determined by the appointing authority.