Why Garissa County Officials should tone down the rhetoric
Chinua Achebe once said that an old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned. Why are Garissa county officials jittery about Duale's remarks during the Pastoralist Education and Career Fair which happened last weekend in Garissa county?
Our attention has been drawn to some county officials running helter-skelter trying to respond to Duale's remarks during the education expo - the first of its kind in Northern Kenya.
First of all, Duale's remarks were nothing but the truth; and the TRUTH IS HARD! It's also true that some of the senior county officials in the Pastoralist counties have FAKE academic papers while the majority of the young people who are properly schooled are jobless.
Just watched a clip of Garissa Govenor doing rounds, surrounded by his clueless bootlickers, claiming that he has the power to employ anyone. It was an astonishing thing to watch. Well, it's important that we remind the governor that the County Public Service Boards have a code of conduct and ethics and these codes must be followed to the letter. The law on public employment and appointments is very clear. We also want to remind the county officials that there's nothing to shout about here. What was their press conference for? You either have a genuine degree or you don't. It's as simple as that! And that's all Duale said. No wonder a wise man once said that the guilty are always afraid. Even though no one mentioned them, they started raising their hands up!
Devolution was meant to correct years of marginalization and not to perpetuate a new form of marginalization. When Governors employ whoever they want, meritocracy is shown the door and mediocrity sets in which is exactly what we're currently witnessing in the counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa etc etc.
The crude and corrosive attacks on the Leader of Majority by the clueless county officials is unfortunate and highly uncalled for. The young people of the Pastoralist community stand by and support Duale's statement because it was uplifting and necessary. Someone must talk sense into these Governors!
