Former Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management Moses Kuria has claimed that President William Ruto has picked allies of opposition leader Raila Odinga to fill Cabinet portfolios where programmes are facing challenges.
Speaking publicly for the first time since President Ruto reshuffled the Cabinet following weeks of youth protests, Mr Kuria gave the impression that Mr Odinga's allies nominated to the Cabinet will face an uphill task once they are in place.
He was addressing mourners in Kalimbini area of Makueni County during the burial of Nelous Mwende, the wife of businessman James Mbaluka, on Friday, July 26.
Politics took centre stage at the funeral, which was also attended by Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior.
Despite being one of the 11 former cabinet secretaries who did not make it back, Mr Kuria was identified as a member of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
From Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, President Ruto picked deputy party leaders Hassan Joho (Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs) and Wycliffe Oparanya (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development); party leader John Mbadi (National Treasury and Economic Planning); and National Assembly minority leader Opiyo Wandayi (Energy and Petroleum).
“As the government, we accomplished a lot but we also failed in some areas. In Makueni County, for instance, the governor had been asking me to ensure that the county gets a share of the proceeds of copper and other minerals mined here but I had no answer with me. Governor, look for Joho for a solution,” Mr Kuria said Friday sparking laughter.
“Some 12 million Kenyans have borrowed from the Hustler Fund but refused to pay back. We tried chasing them but we were unable. We looked for Wycliffe Oparanya and told him that he appeared capable of helping us recover the money. In the Mount Kenya region, we have been facing challenges with coffee farmers because cooperatives have refused to pay farmers. As the Kenya Kwanza administration, we tried to solve the problem in vain. We sought Mr Oparanya to come and help us address the woes of coffee farmers. You made noise about the high cost of fuel. When we were unable to address the problem we went to Ugunja and picked Opiyo Wandayi. We told him to give us a formula of reducing the cost of fuel,” he said.
“The most challenging area which the government faced was on taxation. Faced with debts, we tried increasing taxation to address housing, healthcare, and education programmes. It was a big challenge. We went to Suba and picked John Mbadi. We told him to come and give us a formula on running government programmes so that when taxation increases we shall ask him” Mr Kuria said.
Mr Kilonzo Jnr has hit out at the Kenya Kwanza government, accusing it of mismanagement. He poured cold water on President Ruto's choice of cabinet ministers as he strongly condemned police brutality against protesters.
"As much as I welcome peace and a grand coalition government, I am left with questions. Did young children have to die for old men to get into government? Did people have to drown to get people into government? I do not understand. We may have silenced the young people with guns, but they will never forget. We have to tell this government that you have failed the young people of this country. The people you have chosen to join the government are old.
