Use merit in naming heads of parastatals

The changes must reflect the ethnic fabric of Kenya and ensure that those heading the offices funded by taxpayers represent the face of Kenya.

The appointing authorities must desist from the practice of using any vacancies to reward political cronies and business operatives who funded party or presidential campaigns.

This will ensure professionalism in their management and good service delivery to the public.

There is also a linkage between corruption and hiring of directors and CEOs who are at the beck and call of their appointing masters while neglecting public interest.

Past audits have suggested that collusion by civil servants and other officials to steal billions of shillings annually is coordinated at a high level.

Therefore, it’s critical to hire boards that have the capacity to play the oversight role.

The ethnic composition of appointments under the new administration must reflect the spirit of the Supreme law.

The Constitution introduced the ethnic representation requirements to check a historical trend where tribesmen of those in power were favoured during recruitment.

Ethnic groups whose job representation surpasses their corresponding national population proportion are considered to be over-represented.

An earlier report showed that Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities dominated top jobs in government, embassies and chief executive positions in parastatals.

The Kikuyu and Kalenjin dominance mirrors the two tribes’ presence at the highest office in Kenya since Independence.

In sum, the new appointments must seek to correct the skewed appointments and rely on merit.