President Ruto formally appoints 50 CASs after Parliament declines to vet them
President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi, on February 9, 2023. The President has formally appointed all 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries who had been nominated for the positions.
President William Ruto has formally appointed all 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries who had been nominated for the positions.
This comes after the National Assembly failed to vet the nominees citing the lack of constitutional authority to carry out the exercise.
“The obligation to respect, uphold and defend the Constitution enjoins the House to refrain from assuming and discharging a role that it has not been expressly assigned by the Constitution or written law. In that regard, the National Assembly is unable to vet the nominees in the absence of an express constitutional or statutory requirement to do so,” read the memorandum by the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang'ula.
State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed in a statement on Wednesday, said following the memorandum, the President has effectively appointed the nominees to various ministries as earlier notified.
"To facilitate the ascension of the Chief Administrative Secretaries to Office, the State Appointees are now scheduled to subscribe to their solemn Oath of Office," Mr Mohammed said.
Even though the Constitution caps ministries at 22, the CAS position that was created by Dr Ruto's predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta does not limit the President.
Last week, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua defended the President's ‘bloated’ Chief Administrative Secretaries list saying they found a ruined economy and to improve it they require a bigger team.
He said the main work for CASs will be moving across the world looking for the markets as the CSs concentrate on their office work.
