More than a thousand apply for CAS jobs despite legality battle
PSC chairman Anthony Muchiri.
President William Ruto is set to receive names of successful principal secretary applicants as it emerged that more than 1,200 individuals had by Friday applied for the controversial chief administrative secretary (CAS) positions ahead of the deadline.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) yesterday concluded interviewing the 585 candidates shortlisted for the available 49 PS positions.
The Sunday Nation learnt that at least 1,245 individuals – mostly politicians and election losers – had by Friday applied for the CAS jobs, whose legality is the subject of a court challenge by the Law Society of Kenya.
A source at the commission said that some of the high-profile political leaders in the PSs shortlist have also applied for the CAS positions to increase their chances of landing a lucrative government job. The number is likely to go up significantly before the October 27 deadline lapses.
PSC chairperson Anthony Mwaniki Muchiri told Sunday Nation that the commission will take about four days to pick names for submission to President Ruto.
Also Read: Court suspends creation of CAS position
Mr Muchiri said the five panels that have been conducting the interviews will meet today in the afternoon to scrutinise scores by the interviews before settling on names to recommend for nomination.
The commission said the names will be ready for submission latest Friday. The dates by the PSC appear to coincide with that when Parliament is expected to approve the nomination of Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) whose vetting concluded yesterday.
Those to be nominated by the President for the PS jobs will, however, have to wait for another round of scrutiny as they will have to go through vetting by Parliament before the President can finally appoint them.
“We are set to conclude the process today evening just as was indicated in the public commission. Once that is done we will from tomorrow (Sunday) sit and start going through the scores,” said Mr Muchuri.
He added: “We have to look at gender, inclusivity, interests of persons with disabilities in coming up with names to be recommended.”
PSC has been under sharp criticism for defying a court order that stopped the recruitment of CASs.
But the commission Secretary Simon Rotich, in a reply to a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), says the commission followed due process in establishing the office, including inviting views from the public.
The CAS position was introduced by former President Uhuru Kenyatta four years ago, largely to reward political allies.
