Sossion: CAS positions are valid, they strengthen service delivery in ministries

Tourism Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) nominee Wilson Sossion has spoken about the High Court’s ruling declaring his appointment alongside 49 others as unconstitutional.

The court on Monday ruled that public participation in the creation of the CAS post was only conducted for 23 occupants and the creation of the additional 27 occupants did not adhere to the constitutional requirement of public participation. 

But Sossion, who appeared on Citizen TV’s Day Break show on Tuesday, said the value of CASs in ministries cannot be overlooked, especially in supporting service delivery.

The former Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) secretary-general said the ongoing contention is due to constitutional gaps following the abolishment of the assistant minister’s posts, whose role he argues is needed.

“I served in the education ministry for long and I saw the value the CAS came with to strengthen the administration and the service delivery of the ministry,” Sossion said.

“There were gaps in the constitution when the assistant ministers were removed and the public service was not invigorated to fill those gaps. The CASs in the previous administration served a whole five years to administer and deliver.”

Sossion agreed with Dagoretti North Member of Parliament Beatrice Elachi with whom he was on the panel, that ministries need leaders apart from Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) and Principal Secretaries (PSs), to “follow through whether anything is happening in a ministry.”

“The most important thing is delivering service; it’s an investment to deliver and give value. I agree with Elachi that these positions are valid for the purpose of strengthening the operations of State departments administratively,” he said.

In Sossion’s view, CASs take an administrative role in a ministry, which is different from the CSs’ oversight and PSs’ accounting functions.

“There is a big difference between CSs as overall in charge of the ministry and PSs as accounting officers. The administration is a completely different domain,” argued the CAS nominee.

Elachi, a former Gender and Public Service CAS in the previous administration, had said what the Public Service Commission did not do right was clearly state the mandate and role of the CAS.

“Public Service needs to ensure you put a mandate,” she said, adding that without a CAS, the CS might run a ministry while leaving areas within their docket that is outside their field of expertise.

“You can’t just leave it to the PS,” said Elachi.

The High Court’s ruling acknowledged that the CAS position was abolished last year, saying; "Once that office was abolished on 21 September 2022, the newly-created office and complement of 23 office holders could no longer benefit from that stay."

“The newly-created office and fresh complement of 50 had to comply with the constitution and the criteria set out earlier in Okiyah’s case in order to be lawfully established. They did not comply. The entire complement of 50 CASs is therefore unconstitutional,” the court ruled.

The court ruled the creation of the additional 27 CASs did not adhere to the constitutional requirement of public participation and quashed the appointment of all the 50 CASs as unconstitutional.

"Whereas there was some reasonable public participation on the first complement of 23 CASs, there was no such participation regarding the additional 27 CASs," read the ruling, adding, "The entire complement of the 50 CASs is unconstitutional."

The 50 CAS were sworn in by President Ruto on March 23 after the National Assembly declined to vet them saying it had no constitutional authority to do so.

The High Court later issued orders barring the CASs from assuming office pending the hearing and determination of the petition. The court also barred the appointees from earning a salary, remuneration, and any benefit pending the conclusion of the case.

Subsequently, the Judiciary said it did not preside over the swearing-in ceremony, noting that it did not send any official to the State House to conduct the ceremony and that it has no role whatsoever in the process.