Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has called for the scrapping of the law that requires governors to have degrees.
Speaking in Boston, United States of America (USA), CS Matiang’i blamed the stringent law on the rising cases of forgeries and falsification of academic papers across the country.
Matiang’i noted that Kenya’s shortfall of trust, truth and honesty from leaders was escalating the vice especially ahead of the upcoming polls.
“Hapa USA kuna requirement ya degree ya kuwa governor? Hakuna, …why don’t we remove the law in Kenya…sasa wale ambao hawana wanaenda kuokota, wengine wanasema walipata Ph.D. ikiwa degree ya kwanza.(Is there any requirement to have a degree to be a governor in the USA? No, why don't we scrap it in Kenya. Those who don't have are even claiming to have a Ph.D. as their first degree)," stated Matiang’i.
He added that the law was now getting circumvented by unscrupulous politicians forging their papers at "River-road" and masquerading with questionable degrees.
The CS asked Kenyans to reconsider the provision and allow aspirants to seek votes from the electorate without the caveats of academic qualifications in the case of governors.
Matiangi pointed out that an established economy like the USA did not have such provisions and gave the opportunity to the electorate to decide for themselves based on the track record of the individual.
His remarks come hot in the heels of a highly publicised case in which Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho is alleged to have forged his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCSE).
Video courtesy of Jamhuri News:
[video: autoplay:0]
