Kenya’s President William Ruto has announced a raft of changes he is going to make immediately after he was sworn in.
The president in his speech said he was going to appoint the six judges of the court of appeal whose appointment has remained pending three years after they were nominated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Ruto said he was going to work to support the independence of the judiciary adding that he was going to allocate an extra Sh3 billion to the operations of the Judiciary adding that he will be steadfast in upholding the rule of law.
“To further demonstrate my commitment to the independence of the judiciary, this afternoon, I will appoint the six judges already nominated for appointment to the court of appeal which was done three years ago
Tomorrow. I shall preside over their swearing-in so that they can get on with the business of serving the people of Kenya,” he stated.
The president also said he was going to direct that the financial authority of the Inspector General of Police from the executive arm government to the National Police Service.
The move he said will be key in promoting professionalism in the Police service which he said has been used by previous leaders for selfish interests.
“I have instructed that instrument conferring financial autonomy to the National Police Service by transferring their budget from the Office of the President and designating the Inspector General as the accounting officer be placed on my desk by this afternoon,” the head of state said.
The president also began to keep his promise of reviving the Mombasa port operations alive by reverting the operations of clearing goods back to the port of Mombasa.
During his campaigns, the president pledged to revert the operations of the Mombasa port which he said was going to be crucial in restoring the livelihoods of the people of Mombasa County.
“This afternoon, I will be issuing instructions for clearing of goods and other attendant operational duties to the port of Mombasa as I made a commitment to Kenyans. This will restore thousands of jobs in the city of Mombasa,” he stated.
To address the concerns of farmers, the president said he was going to be engaged in talks that would turn around the agricultural sector.
The president said beginning next week the prize of fertilizer was going to drop from Sh6,500 to Sh3,500 for a 50Kg bag.
The move Ruto said was going to be crucial in lowering the cost of living and empowering local farmers.
“Our strategy to bring down the cost of living is based on empowering producers. The focus for maize harvest this year is 30 million bags against a normal production of 40 million bags. We have already made arrangements to make 1.4 million bags of fertilizers available at Sh3,500 for a 50 kg bag – down from Sh6,500,” he stated.
The Kenyan President, William Ruto said he was going to work for all Kenyans, those that voted, those that did not vote for him and those who did not at all vote.
The head of state also said he was going to deploy a national education task force which was going to undertake a review of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) that would see proper public participation for its full and proper implementation.
