President William Ruto has nominated Dr. Debra Mlongo Barasa as the new Cabinet Secretary Health to replace Susan Nakhumicha who was dismissed.
Mlongo now awaits vetting and approval by the National Assembly.
“It is of utmost importance that the Government takes measures to affirm our commitment to actualising the people’s aspirations, assure citizens that the State exists to serve them efficiently and with integrity, and to signal to all that our national values and principles of governance are the foundation of our national dispensation,” President Ruto said.
The newly nominated Cabinet Secretaries include Prof. Kithure Kindiki, Ministry of the Interior and National Administration; Dr. Debra Mlongo Barasa, Ministry of Health; Alice Wahome, Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Developmet; Julius Migos Ogamba, Ministry of Education; Aden Barre Duale, Ministry of Defence; Dr. Andrew Mwihia, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development; Roselinda Soipan Tuiya, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry; Eric Muriithi Muuga, Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation; Davis Chirchir, Ministry of Roads and Transport; Margaret Nyambura, Ministry of Information, Communication and The Digital Economy; and Rebecca Miano as the new Attorney-General nominee.
The President also assured Kenyans that the state is committed to solving issues affecting them.
This is after the country engaging in a difficult public conversation that has provided an opportunity to reflect deeply on the relationship between fundamental rights and democratic freedoms during the past month.
According to President Ruto, Kenyans have expressed their views on governance, development, economic management, national finances, and many other aspects of national life.
Some of the urgent matters that the president has assured Kenyans to solve is the acceleration of programmes that will significantly increase food production in addition to other interventions so as to reduce the cost of living for Kenyans.
Another reform to be taken into action soon is the expansion of existing job-creation programmes and the creation of new intervention to address unemployment. This will allow the unemployed thousands of youths to participate in gainful work.
“Other than that, the President has encouraged necessity for a public conversation on innovative, prudent, transparent, and accountable use of public resources, along with people-friendly mechanisms for domestic resource mobilisation and reducing public expenditure,”
Public conversation will enable addressing significant changes of public debt by establishing and implementing a clear mechanism to reduce public borrowing and insulate the country from risks associated with debt accumulation and financial management.
Also, the citizens should be able to recognise the importance of constituting a more inclusive government that unlocks the potential of citizens from all sectors to drive national transformation.
“I gave the nation my undertaking to reflect at length on these issues that have been brought into sharp focus by the people of Kenya, consult widely on the way forward and craft a broad-based Government that would harness the enormous potential in our country to turbocharge our economic transformation and inclusive growth,” added president Ruto.
President Ruto also assured Kenyans that the events of the past month has given both the government and citizens with a great opportunity to craft a broad-based and inclusive citizen coalition for the national transformation and progress although the events have caused tremendous anxiety, concern and uncertainty.
