On Sunday, President William Ruto issued a directive to Principal Secretary (PS) Raymond Omollo attached to the Ministry of Interior and National Administration to initiate the process that will see the elevation of constituencies into sub-counties.
He gave the directive while attending a service at the Stewards Revival Pentecostal Church in Nairobi backing a proposal by Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje.
The MP had appealed to the Head of State to have constituencies elevated into counties to ease service delivery for citizens, especially during recruitment by the government.
“I have agreed with your MP that each constituency be elevated into a sub-county. PS Omollo go and implement the proposal,” the president directed.
Interior PS Raymond Omollo speaks to the press during the inspection of Moi Stadium in Embu County on February 21, 2023.
Ministry of Interior
The Embakasi lawmaker argued that the move will ease service delivery and offer equal opportunities to citizens during the government’s recruitment exercises.
He gave the example that in Nairobi, sub-counties are adjacent making it difficult for residents to know where they will get government services because borders are divided by roads.
“When you are here at Kariobangi South Ward, we are in Kamukunji Sub-county. If you cross that side of the road, that is Ruai Sub-county. If you go to Umoja, you find that that is Embakasi Sub-county,” he explained.
“The reason I am raising this issue is that it affects us in Eastlands mostly. That means people here have to go for government services to the District Commissioner (DC) on this side. When you cross the road, you have to go to the DC to the other side.”
MP Mark Mwenje further lamented that during government recruitment exercises, residents are often locked out because vacancies are allocated according to sub-counties.
“But more importantly, when governments jobs are there and when we are recruiting teachers, military officers or youths for National Youth Service (NYS) is done, its normally through sub-counties,” he added.
He elaborated that during the recruitment of Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers, sometimes the government offers slots for only two permanent and pensionable teachers.
He noted that Embakasi Sub-County has four constituencies while Ruai Sub-County has five constituencies which means many of the people in these constituencies are left out.
“So we would want Embakasi West to become a sub-county of its own as you look into the boundaries going forward,” he appealed.
Currently, there are 290 constituencies headed by MPs and 314 sub-counties led by deputy county commissioners.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki (left) and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo (right) in Nyeri County at a consultative forum in Mt Kenya on April 14, 2023.
Photo
Ministry of Interior
