Attorney General Githu Muigai. PHOTO/SALATON NJAU/FILE
Attorney-General Githu Muigai cautioned
the Presidency that there were certain guidelines to be followed on
appointments of parastatal bosses.
The AG’s office says
it gave the Office of the President and that of the Deputy President
advice on how to handle the appointments, especially for merged
parastatals, following recommendations of a taskforce led by
presidential adviser Abdikadir Mohamed.
In a detailed
letter to Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and Chief of Staff at
Deputy William Ruto’s office, Ms Marianne Kitany, Prof Muigai said
qualification for appointments had to be confirmed by the respective
ministries.
Prof Muigai’s letter, which the Nation has
seen, also said all proposed appointments had to be verified under the
“vacancy announcement procedure”.
The AG had also
warned that revocation of appointments of board chairpersons or members
meant their replacements would only serve the remainder of the former
incumbents’ terms.
The letter, dated December 11, 2013
was in response to a request for legal advice by Mr Ruto’s office on
December 6 and which Mr Kinyua was also copied.
The
AG’s letter also cautioned on appointments to five parastatals in the
Agriculture ministry, saying rules governing former institutions had to
be observed as detailed in the first schedule to the Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food Authority Act, 2012 (No 13 of 2013). The parastatals
are the Pests Control Products Board, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate
Service, Horticultutral Crops Development Authority, Pyrethrum Board of
Kenya and the Coconut Development Authority.
Yesterday, Prof Muigai was not available to comment on the advice his office had given to Mr Kenyatta’s and Mr Ruto’s offices.
His
letter, however, had asserted that “Cabinet Secretaries ought to have
reviewed all legal notices establishing merged institutions so they be
revoked by respective authorities to enable transfer of functions,
assets and liabilities of former institutions to the authority or
successor companies.”
Revelations of the AG’s input in
advising the President and his deputy on the ongoing State jobs
appointments came as Mr Ruto claimed that the President was misadvised
by some officials.
Some of the appointments that are
said to have violated the law were that of former State House candidate
Abduba Dida as CDF board chairman and former head of Public Service
Francis Muthaura to chair the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport
(Lapsset) corridor board.
The appointments of office holders Jennifer Barasa (CDF board) and Prof Abdulrazak Shaukat (Lapsset board) were revoked.
Mr Dida’s appointment has, however, been revoked.
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