Beatrice Elachi, MP for Dagoretti North, believes that the role of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs) should be reinstated.
Elachi, a former CAS for Gender and Public Service in the previous Jubilee administration, dismissed the argument that the government doesn't need 'assistant ministers' because funding the offices is costly on Thursday.
According to her, the government should create the position because its occupants will pay taxes and benefit the government.
"If they get salaries, they will pay tax. In fact, we are creating more base for tax to go back to the government because they employ others. For me, it is not an issue of we have money or not," the MP told the K24 television station.
"If you ask me, this turn of saying 'we don't have money' is not right. I want a positive turn. Yes, we have a crisis but this is not the first time Kenya is finding itself in crisis. We cannot keep lamenting… God has blessed us."
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Her remarks come in the wake of the National Government Administration Laws (Amendment) Bill being tabled in parliament, which seeks to amend four Acts and is seen as a way to resurrect the CAS position, declared unconstitutional by the High Court in July.
Elachi, on the other hand, contends that CASs are necessary for the optimal performance of government ministries if their mandate is clearly stated.
"In fairness of the country, of the delivery of service and ensuring that those ministries function in the right way, you need a deputy with a clear role… who will represent the CS in meetings when they are not around… who will follow through on all the other issues that are within the ministry," the MP said.
The National Assembly refused to vet the 50 CAS nominees President William Ruto chose in March, citing a lack of constitutional authority. Nonetheless, the president swore them in at State House Nairobi.
The Law Society of Kenya and the Katiba Institute then petitioned the appointment process, and the High Court declared the appointments unconstitutional in July.
According to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, the monthly salary for one CAS is Ksh.765,188, making the total monthly salary for all 50 nominees Ksh.38,259,400.
In addition, each CAS is eligible for a one-time mortgage payment of Ksh.35 million and a Ksh.10 million car grant, bringing total take-home pay to Ksh.990 million.
Kenyans would also be required to pay Ksh.10 million and Ksh.3 million for each CAS's inpatient and outpatient medical coverage.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta established the CAS post in 2018, a process that the court later declared unconstitutional in 2021, citing, among other things, a lack of public participation.
Ruto's administration nearly doubled the previous 26 CAS slots.
