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Let us work, Kaimenyi says as he defends Waiguru

"How many times do you need me to assure you that we are not planning to increase the fees before you believe me?" he posed.

“How many times do you need me to assure you that we are not planning to increase the fees before you believe me?” he posed.

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 22 – Education, Science and Technology Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi on Thursday urged the public to allow Cabinet Secretaries to do their jobs and stop intimidating them.

He decried what he said was an evident lack of trust in their capacities and used the public university student protests against a fee hike as a case in point.

“How many times do you need me to assure you that we are not planning to increase the fees before you believe me?” he posed.

He also came out in defence of Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru whose removal from office Igembe South Member of Parliament Mithika Linturi is seeking.

“You can be hit left and right without facts. Just look at Anne Waiguru. She has taken a decision. Instead of nailing her to the cross, find out why she did what she did. If it is within her powers don’t you think you have cause to keep quiet? Please allow us to do our jobs,” he urged.

Patience in addition to trust was another virtue he asked the public to exercise where the Cabinet Secretaries were concerned.

“I can say I’m going to meet Sally for lunch and then I get an accident on the way. That is exactly what happened with the laptop project,” he pointed out.

In the same vein, he urged Members of County Assemblies to respect their Governors and not always be out to crucify them.

“You know if you’re a Governor you can be kicked out any time. Can we just allow each other time to work. I can’t emphasise that enough times,” he said.

In November last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta himself came out in defence of his Cabinet Secretaries and called on legislators to allow them work by being judicious when summoning them.

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“Let us be reasonable… if it is the issue of policies call them and get them addressed, but we cannot have Cabinet Secretaries living in Parliament to the point whenever am even looking for them for issues required to be done, I’m told they are in Parliament. Let us not frustrate each other, give us room within which to work,” President Kenyatta urged.

He however also made it clear that none of them is safe should they fail to deliver on the mandates he entrusted them with.

“Together, we must look ahead, identify any risk that might undermine our joint efforts and mitigate them appropriately,” the Head of State said in March.

Kaimenyi made his plea for tolerance at the opening of the inaugural National Conference on Special Needs Education at which he also announced that his ministry was considering following Tanzania’s lead where that is concerned.

“In Tanzania children with special needs spend 10 as opposed to eight years in Primary school because of their special needs. And that is what this conference is all about; to look at best practices the world over and see what Kenya can adopt,” he said.

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