Since taking an oath of office, the newly reconstituted cabinet has never convened a meeting; however, they’ve been administering their roles as constituted.
For the first time since the dissolution of the previous cabinet, President Ruto chaired the first broad-based government cabinet meeting at the State House, Nairobi.
One of the major subjects of discussion during the meeting was public accountability and transparency. Matters surrounding corruption and sealing loopholes to prevent state officials and servants from mismanaging public resources remained a hot cake.
The broad-based government has therefore initiated strategic measures to alleviate the country from losing public resources to unscrupulous individuals. In the agreed measures, accounting officers or public officials will be surcharged.
The government also plans to implement a unified personnel identification system to eradicate the endemic payroll fraud stemming from the absorption of ghost workers across all levels of governments and constitutional commissions.
A legal and institutional framework will be established for the mandatory and continuous vetting of all public officers in a bid to centralize wealth declarations as a measure to curb resource embezzlement by public officials.
The government is also seeking a six-month timely expedition of all corruption cases through the amendment of the Evidence Act and Criminal Procedure Code. This will ensure the prosecution of corrupt individuals is properly done within the stipulated timelines.
In bid to protect the whistleblowers from being shunned off, the cabinet agreed to review and amend the Witness Protection Act.
The cabinet also discussed a transition to a zero-based budgeting system beginning the financial year 2025/25 and, finally, the review of the VAT refund process to enhance openness, transparency, and accountability.
On matters relating to health, the cabinet is accelerating the implementation of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority from 1st October, 2024.
The Linda Mama Program, which was effectively implemented under the previous regime, has been formally rebounded as well. The program will be extended to cover both prenatal care and postnatal care to ensure the well-being of both mother and child throughout the entire continuum of care.
