Cabinet Secretaries need to be constant
Cabinet Secretaries in the Kenya Kwanza administration need to be more consistent in their messaging to avoid sending mixed signals about their intended plans of action.
When those expected to guide government agenda and policy direction keep flip-flopping on important issues of public interest, they send wrong signals to the economy and to stakeholders and this makes it difficult for the relevant agencies to plan appropriately.
For instance, Kenya Kwanza promised in its manifesto that it would enhance funding for education, yet the CS for Education, Ezekiel Machogu, recently appeared to send signals to the contrary before recanting and arguing that he had been misquoted. A statement unilaterally and effectively ending funding for public universities would have far-reaching ramifications for the affected institutions, students, families and other stakeholders, including employers.
As such, it is important, before such a pronouncement is made, for the CS to consider the full impact of such a radical decision. And for his own credibility as a leader, it is important that they are not seen to be changing positions in a manner that suggest that they had not thought through their proposals.
Another example is the CS for Transport, Kipchumba Murkomen. He said on Twitter that he had made public documents relating to the Sh490 billion Standard Gauge Railway contract. However, a closer examination of the documents reveal that the CS did not provide the most critical and controversial parts of the agreement. This cast doubt on his integrity and he ought to either make the entire document series public or apologise for misleading Kenyans and the National Assembly.
In the same vein, the CS for Trade, Moses Kuria, appeared to make contradictory statements about the future of the second hand clothes imports industry, sending investors in the sector into panic.CSs are expected to give direction in a clear and firm manner to allow government and private sector players to plan effectively. However, from what has been happening in the recent past, some CSs have cast doubt as to whether they have been properly briefed and have a firm grasp of the issues they set out to address.
Although it is to be appreciated that they are still new in their roles — and there could be bureaucrats in their ministries who are not giving them correct briefing during the transition period — it is still not excusable for them to be seen to be walking back on the important pronouncements they make. There is, clearly, need to streamline their communication to ensure they articulate the government position collectively and are not just making roadside declarations that they later deny or renounce.
