Gladys Boss Shollei, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, recently expressed her view that Cabinet Secretaries (CS) do not necessarily need to possess academic qualifications in their respective fields if they are considered "visionary leaders."
During an interview on Citizen TV, Shollei defended President William Ruto's appointments of certain individuals to public offices, even if some of them have controversial backgrounds.
Shollei's remarks came in response to a question about the appointment of Rashid Echesa, a former Sports Cabinet Secretary (CS), as the Chairperson of the Kenya Water Towers Agency Board, despite his limited formal education (only completing primary school).
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Shollei argued that individuals are selected for leadership positions based on their dedication to advancing the organization's visions and goals, rather than solely relying on their academic qualifications.
She added that the individuals are then guided by a team of “technical officers” who are qualified to execute the mandates of the respective boards.
“The issue is you appoint people and in some of these positions you have technical officers who actually are qualified. We can give the example of a Cabinet Secretary doesn’t have to be an expert or should have studied that particular docket but the point is are they a visionary leader?” she paused.
“If they are, then they will rely on the technical staff who already exist and have been in the ministry for years who are hired for their technical capabilities that is what you look at.”
The Uasin Gishu county MP went on to say that appointees are only fired if they prove incompetent.
“If that person is not able to provide the visionary leadership that is required then they can be fired from the job. The problem is keeping someone if they are incompetent, let us see if they are capable of doing it,” she said.
In another example, Shollei stated that in the National Assembly, one can have no education but sit in a specific committee with the help of clerks who act as “technical staff.”
“Even when we are in parliament we pass legislation, we oversight the executive but the qualification of a member of parliament is just post-secondary education but it does not mean that those MPs are not capable of undertaking their duties,” she said.
“When we sit in parliament even without any education you can sit in the health committee but we have clerks who are technical officers who provide the technical support to those MPs.”
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