Governor Irungu Kang’ata has broken his silence days after former Teachers Service Commission Nancy Macharia declined her nomination to chair the Murang’a County Public Service Board.
Macharia, on Friday, June 27, declined her nomination, stating she had decided to accept a better position from an international organisation. The rejection came just a week after Kang’ata nominated her to the post, to the surprise of many.
The ex-TSC boss explained that initially, she thought the international job would be part-time work, only to be informed that the job would require her full-time commitment.
"I hereby thank you for nominating me. However, I decline the post as I have received another offer from an international body, which, in my opinion, could affect my performance in the said role," Macharia wrote.
While speaking to Inooro TV on Tuesday, July 2, the governor disclosed that Macharia's contribution to the TSC, particularly in ensuring career progression for teachers, was a key factor in informing his nomination of the former TSC boss to chair the Murang’a County Public Service Board.
Kang’ata explained that the Murang’a county government had no laid-out structure for promotions and career progression for its workers, and that Macharia would bring that into the Board.
Even so, the governor divulged that her nomination had still ruffled some feathers, with various quarters within the county expressing their reservations about Macharia’s age.
He noted that some of the senior county workers were relatively younger than Macharia, adding that the Deputy Governor, Mburu Munania, was only 29 years old. As per Kang’ata, 80 per cent of the county’s workforce was made up of youth.
While he did not directly link Macharia’s age (62 years) as a key factor behind her rejection, Kang’ata seemingly intimated that it would have been a cause of friction in the county’s workforce and potentially limit the smooth running of the county.
In spite of all that, Kang’ata maintained that Macharia had met the requirements of the position, which included ten years of experience in a managerial position. Further, the ideal candidate was required to have experience in Human Resource Management and be a member of the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM), the professional body for HR practitioners in Kenya.
In addition, the governor listed that gender balance at the helm of the Board was key, noting that since the current Deputy Chair was a man, the nominee for the Chair position needed to be a woman.
On Friday, June 20, Kang’ata nominated Macharia, who had just left her position as the TSC boss, to chair the Murang’a County Public Service Board. In the position, Macharia was to oversee appointments in the county public service.
She was nominated alongside four other individuals, Louis Musikali, Johnson Kang'ethe, Brian Lishenga, and Oscar Kimani, who were designated as members.
Following their nominations, Murang'a County's Social Welfare, Justice and Legal Affairs Committee announced that it would hold a special sitting to vet the nominees.
Upon approval by the committee, the names of the four nominees would then be forwarded to the County Assembly for further consideration. The Assembly would then have 21 days to consider the nominations.
If approved by the County Assembly, Macharia and the fellow nominees would have taken up the roles for the next five years, renewable upon the expiry of their contracts.
Macharia's nomination came a fortnight after she proceeded on annual leave, pending her formal retirement from TSC on June 30. She was replaced by Evaleen Mitei, who is currently serving in an acting capacity.
