President Ruto pledges transparent recruitment as SRC, IPOA bosses end terms

The government will ensure a transparent recruitment of commissioners for the positions that are due to become vacant in constitutional commissions, President William Ruto has said.

The President said the recruitment to positions of responsibility must demonstrate true fidelity to the rule of law.

Speaking when he received end-of-term reports from constitutional commission officials whose tenure of office has expired at State House, Nairobi, on Tuesday, President Ruto said he was aware that in some institutions, the terms of all commissioners expire at the same time.

The commissions and independent offices whose chairs and commissioners’ tenure has come to an end are the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, the Commission of Administration of Justice (Ombudsman), the Gender and Equality Commission and the Independent Police Oversight Authority.

“I am aware that in certain commissions, like the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and the Commission on Administrative Justice, the terms of office for the chairperson and all the commissioners expire at the same time, leaving the organisations in a state of suspense,” he said.

He pointed out that it is essential that in such instances, service delivery is not interrupted and especially during instances of delayed recruitment.

The President said pragmatic options such as staggered recruitment of commissioners should be considered to achieve a degree of continuity.

“The Office of the Deputy President, in close consultation with the Attorney-General and the constitutional commissions and independent offices, will be tasked with preparing a Bill to give effect to the legal provisions for staggered recruitment of commissioners,” he said.

He appreciated the contribution of chairpersons and commissioners of constitutional commissions have done in leading a national discourse on the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.

He cited the success of the commissions as actualising national values and principles of governance, enhancing inclusion and cohesion, making efforts at public wage bill sustainability, transforming policing and fighting corruption.

President Ruto noted that the government launched the Zero Fault Audit Campaign, which is aimed at highlighting the merits of having no audit queries in State agencies and departments.

He said the goal of the campaign was to strengthen accountability, openness, integrity and good governance in the public service through the promotion of prudent use and management of public resources.

“I believe that constitutional commissions have an opportunity to promote this approach in government ministries, departments and agencies,” the President said.

Speaking after handing over her report to the President, Chairperson of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission Lyn Mengich said the public service wage bill has progressively dropped in her tenure from 51.5 per cent of revenues in 2018 to 46 per cent in 2024.

She also said the commission froze salary increases for State corporations besides streamlining allowances and therefore saving KSh11.2 billion.

Chairperson of IPOA Anne Makori said the authority was “doing everything possible” to ensure police accountability, saying there were 20,000 complaints, in which 12,732 were resolved.

Chairpersons of Gender and Equality Commission Joyce Mutinda and Commission of Administration of Justice Florence Kajuju also handed over the end-of-reports of their organisations.