Ruto's Reconstituted Cabinet Faces Mandate to Eradicate Corruption and Incompetence

The newly assembled Cabinet under President William Ruto has been tasked with making the well-being of the Kenyan people their top priority.

Following the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, Ruto has emphasized the importance of focusing on the delivery and implementation of programs that will propel the country forward. He urges the Cabinet Secretaries to make the welfare of the Kenyan populace their primary and sole concern, ensuring that personal interests do not interfere with their duties. Ruto has assured the new CSs of his unwavering support as they discharge their mandates to the Kenyan citizenry. He commits to leading by example as a responsible steward of public resources and champion of accountability.

The President acknowledges the bold expectations and intolerance for failure, inefficiency, corruption, and incompetence expressed by the Kenyan people. Highlighting the critical role of the Cabinet in championing the nation's development agenda, Ruto emphasizes the need for the new team to function as collaborative, servant-oriented leaders, faithful trustees, effective custodians of the people's interests, and dependable guardians of their resources. The President expresses confidence in the capability of each CS to deliver on their mandates and meet the people's expectations.

Ruto highlights the immense duty that comes with the privilege of serving in high-responsibility positions and urges the CSs to ensure that Kenyans receive the best services from the government efficiently without discrimination. The swearing-in ceremony at State House, Nairobi, saw 19 approved CSs take the oath of office, including notable figures such as Kithure Kindiki, Soipan Tuya, John Mbadi, and Justin Muturi, among others. The President has outlined ten key areas of focus for the new Cabinet, including accountability and the fight against corruption, the elimination of ghost workers' payroll fraud, continuous vetting of public officers, and the expeditious investigation and prosecution of economic crimes.

Ruto also stresses the importance of enhancing the Witness Protection Act to encourage citizens and whistleblowers to report corruption and economic crimes. Furthermore, Ruto highlights the need for legislative support for transparency, expressing his commitment to expediting the enactment of the Conflict of Interests Bill. He emphasizes the importance of timely conclusion of cases, promising to make full use of legal and institutional structures to ensure that all active cases are resolved within a specific time frame.

The President's speech has reiterated the government's commitment to job creation, development of local industrial capacity, and wealth creation as part of the Kenya Kwanza agenda. Meanwhile, John Mbadi, the newly appointed Treasury Cabinet Secretary, has officially assumed his role at the Treasury building. Moments after being sworn in, Mbadi arrived at the offices and received a brief from his two Principal Secretaries, Chris Kiptoo and James Muhati. The former nominated MP was then taken on a tour of other offices within the ministry, accompanied by the two PSs.

During his vetting, Mbadi vowed to leverage his extensive experience to develop new policies to support the government. Addressing the rejected Finance Bill, 2024, Mbadi acknowledged that the main issue was inadequate public participation and ineffective communication. He stated that there were good provisions in the rejected bill that could be brought forward as specific amendments with proper public engagement. Mbadi also promised to introduce a new accounting system to address the persistent problem of pending bills, which he believes are largely fictitious.

The newly appointed Co-operative and SMEs Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya was warmly welcomed by his family and friends at his Karen home on Thursday. As Oparanya's convoy approached, the men and women gathered and broke into an isukuti dance and songs to celebrate his appointment. The swearing-in ceremony for Oparanya and the 18 other Cabinet Secretaries was held at State House, Nairobi, and witnessed by President William Ruto.