Just give Amoth the job, MPs tell Kagwe
Acting Health Director General Dr Patrick Amoth.
MPs want Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe to explain why Dr Patrick Amoth has been acting as the Director-General for Health for more than two years.
Public Accounts Committee chairman Opiyo Wandayi and Garissa Township MP Aden Duale said despite acting for that long, there was no indication whether Dr Amoth would be appointed substantively.
Dr Amoth, an expert in obstetrics/gynecology, said the ministry’s human resources guidelines were changed to provide for a competitive recruitment process.
“They changed the HR guidelines to ensure the position is filled competitively. What this means is that the Cabinet Secretary has to place an advertisement inviting applications for the position,” he said.
Dr Amoth is the Vice President of the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Africa.
He had appeared before the committee over the special audit by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu on the expenditure of Covid-19 funds by the national government between March 13, 2020 and July 31, 2020.
Section 16 of the Health Act establishes the Office of the Director-General for Health, who shall be the technical advisor to the government on all matters relating to health.
The office holder shall be recruited by the Public Service Commission (PSC) through a competitive process, vetted by Parliament and appointed by the CS and shall hold office for a term of five years, renewable once.
“To the best of recollection, no advertisement has been placed yet,” said Dr Amoth. The DG is also required to provide guidelines for the registration, licensing, certification and gazettement of all health facilities.
The changing of HR guidelines rules out the possibility of Dr Amoth ever being confirmed. Mr Wandayi wondered why Mr Kagwe is not keen to appoint the substantive holder of such a critical office.
“We have written to the CS demanding that he explains why such a critical position has not been filled substantively. The choice has no choice but to be accountable to parliament. I am very sure that the law was not enacted for him to sit on it,” said Mr Wandayi.
Mr Duale said Mr Kagwe should be cited for violating the law. “This is a violation of the law of which Mr Kagwe should be held accountable. I fail to understand why he refused to initiate the process,” he said.
“It is interesting that Dr Amoth gets recognised by WHO yet our own government does not see the critical position that he holds at the international arena,” he added.
Dr Amoth has been critical to the country’s intervention in the fight against Covid-19 that was first reported in Nairobi on March 13, 2020.
Under the Health Act, the DG is also responsible for preventing and guarding against the introduction of infectious diseases into the country, promoting public health and prevention, limitation or suppression of infectious, communicable or preventable diseases in the country.
The DG also advises the national and county governments on matters of national security on public health, facilitates research and investigations in connection with the prevention or treatment of human diseases.
