President William Ruto has presided over the swearing-in of his reconstituted Cabinet with a pledge to enact far-reaching measures to root out corruption and enhance accountability in the public service.
Speaking after the 19 Cabinet Secretaries were sworn into office at State House, Nairobi, on Thursday, President Ruto said the country was beginning a new chapter of governance and development.
“The women and men who have been appointed to serve the nation in the reconstituted Cabinet have today embarked on a mission that cannot and must not fail,” he said.
The 19 Cabinet Secretaries are Kithure Kindiki (Interior), Soipan Tuya ( Defence), John Mbadi (Finance), Adan Duale ( Enviroment), Davis Chirchir ( Roads), Kipchumba Murkomen (Sports), Salim Mvurya ( Trade), Margaret Nyambura (ICT), Justin Muturi (Public Service) and Rebecca Miano (Tourism).
Others are Alfred Mutua ( Labour), Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), Julius Migosi (Education), Eric Muga (Water), Hassan Joho ( Mining), Alice Wahome ( Lands), Deborah Barasa (Health) and Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives).
The Gender and East African Community dockets have not been filled because the National Assembly rejected the nomination of Ms Stella Lang’at to the Gender and Culture ministry.
Ms Beatrice Askul, the EAC ministry nominee, has not yet been vetted.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Prime Cabinet Secretary and CS for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi were present.
The new CSs were accompanied by their families who witnessed as they took their oath of office.
In his address, President Ruto noted that great strides have been made in the implementation of the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda over the past two years, but is optimistic that more will be achieved under the new Cabinet.
“I am confident that each one of you has what it takes to deliver on your mandate and to satisfy the people’s expectations,” the President told the appointees.
Among the President’s raft of proposals to curb corruption is the introduction of a Unified Personal Identification system aimed at stamping out “ghost workers” across government, including constitutional commissions.
Further, he said the Cabinet will propose to Parliament a legal and institutional framework for mandatory continuous vetting of all public officers.
Additionally, the President said the Cabinet will speed up amendments to the Witness Protection Act, Evidence Act and the Criminal Procedure Code to make fighting against corruption effective.
He said he has engaged the parliamentary leadership to expedite the enactment of the Conflict of Interest Bill, which aims to overhaul the country’s approach to conflict of interest situations in the public service.
Moreover, he said the government will digitise the procurement process to make it more open and transparent.
Beginning the 2025/2026 financial year, the President added that the government will adopt a zero-based budgeting system to re-orient the expenditure framework of the government.
Once again, the President reiterated the need for the broad-based government in bringing together former political rivals, saying inclusivity will ultimately lead to national stability.
“I am persuaded that a moment such as this in the history of our nation calls for patriotic citizens to forge an alliance of rivals to harness our collective political capital, knowledge and expertise to take the strides necessary to make our country great,” the President said.
He recalled critical moments in Kenya’s history when dialogue and consensus pulled the country from the brink of the precipice.
“Here we are again being called upon to remember the lessons of history, to live up to the demands of this moment and set aside our partisan interests in order to show up for Kenya.”
