Nairobi — President Uhuru Kenyatta has unveiled four of his 18 Cabinet Secretary nominees.
Kenyatta picked seasoned diplomat Amina Mohamed as the next Secretary for Foreign Affairs, pulling her out of the United Nations where she has been serving as Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Director General for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Mohamed previously served as a Permanent Secretary for Justice and Constitutional Affairs for a number of years under Mwai Kibaki's government.
Dr Fred Okengo Matiang'i - who hails from Borabu and is also a governance expert - was nominated Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication and Technology.
The head of macro-economics at the Treasury Henry K Rotich has been nominated Secretary for the National Treasury, while NIC Bank Group Managing Director James Wainaina Macharia will take the mantle at the Ministry of Health.
These nominees will now undergo vetting by the newly constituted 28-member Parliamentary Committee on Appointments.
President Kenyatta said the selection of the nominees was informed by the Constitutional requirements; the need to reflect the country's diversity and quest to have capable people who will take the country to the next level of development.
"We want to put in place a government that has the capacity to deliver on the pledges made by the Jubilee coalition, transform the country and improve the lives of Kenyans," Kenyatta said.
The president said he released the names of the four nominees to allow Parliament's newly formed Committee on Appointments to start the vetting process while the remaining Cabinet Secretary nominees will be named later.
President Kenyatta who fielded questions from Journalists covering the event at State House insisted that it was not a challenge coming up with the 18 names, maintaining that it was a great pleasure meeting the many individuals interested in the positions.
"For us it is a process of going through the names and coming up with a group that can work together. We want to do things differently and not just to look at the CVs, but we have to meet the individuals and know them and their vision for Kenya," he said adding that he was not under any pressure to have certain individuals on the list.
The Head of State also revealed that there will be a list of new envoys to foreign missions once the Cabinet is constituted although he did not reveal the time projections for having the names of all the 18 nominees.
He pledged to form a Cabinet that will reflect the face of the nation, the best amongst professionals in the various sectors and not reward those who supported the Jubilee coalition in the campaign leading to his election.
