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{
    "id": 391785,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/391785/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 27,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. A.B. Duale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 15,
        "legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
        "slug": "aden-duale"
    },
    "content": "Service created under Article 132(4)(a) of the Constitution. The post is now a single office in the Civil Service, but is referred to as Public Service under the Constitution. The office of the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service is not a State office as prescribed under Article 260 of the Constitution, neither has the office been designated as such under any Act of Parliament. The second question was whether the appointment to the office was undertaken through a competitive process as required by Article 232(1)(g) and (i) of the Constitution. The answer is that the Constitution has created four broad categories of offices in the Public Service and specified different modes of appointment. The competitive recruitment criteria prescribed under Article 232 of the Constitution is just but one of the methods. The others are as follows: The first are offices created and appointment is exclusively made by the Public Service Commission. These are establishments pursuant to Article 234 of the Constitution and form the bulk of the public service. Appointments to these offices within the framework of that Article must strictly conform to the competitive process prescribed under Article 132 of the Constitution. The second are offices in the public service expressly created by the Constitution and appointments made by the President with the recommendation of the PSC and approval of the National Assembly. These kinds of offices are, for example, the office of the Principal Secretary established under Article 155 of the Constitution. The third ones are offices in the public service established by the Constitution and appointments to which are made by the President with approval of only the National Assembly. An example is the office of the Secretary to the Cabinet under Article 154 of the Constitution. The fourth are offices in the public service created by the President with the recommendation of the PSC. An example is the office of the Head of Public Service created under Article 132(4)(a) and the office of the Chief of Staff established under Article 234(4) of the Constitution. These offices now are merged into one office under His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration known as the Office of the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service. This was created by the President with the concurrence of the Public Service Commission, which was granted on 22nd April, 2013. It can be seen that the appointment of the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service does not require competitive recruitment. The third question was what the functions of the office of the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service are, and whether there is an overlap between the office and that of the Secretary to the Cabinet. The answer is that the Chief of Staff administers and manages the personal staff deployed in the Office of the President, serving in State House and other State Lodges. The Head of Public Service is the President’s Principal Assistant responsible for co-ordination and administration of Government Ministries and departments as prescribed under Article 132(3)(b) of the Constitution. The role of the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service is quite distinct from that of the Secretary to the Cabinet. The mandate of the Secretary to the Cabinet is limited to Cabinet affairs and includes the following: He is in charge of the Cabinet Office, responsible for arranging business and keeping minutes of the Cabinet; he is responsible for conveying the decisions of the Cabinet to the appropriate persons and authorities. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}