The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) is lobbying to ensure that President William Ruto fills the remaining cabinet positions with female nominees.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The commission in a statement issued on Thursday observed that the composition of the cabinet nominated by President Ruto so far fails to meet the principal of gender balance enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
NGEC in its statement argued that in the event Ruto does not fill the remaining two slots with female nominees, he will have failed to meet this constitutional requirement.
While reviewing the nominations, NGEC cited that the current nominations consist of 15 male and 6 female candidates.
As pointed out by NGEC, when you factor in the President and Deputy President, who are both male, the total composition becomes 17 males and 6 females.
This composition does not comply with Article 27(8) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which stipulates that no more than two-thirds of the members of a appointive body should be of the same gender.
The 2010 Constitution provides for the Cabinet to comprise 25 members (including the President, Deputy President, Attorney-General, and 22 Cabinet Secretaries), no more than 16 members should be of the same gender.
“To comply with this requirement, women must fill the remaining two positions for the Attorney-General and one Cabinet Secretary,” stated NGEC.
Additionally, NGEC has pushed for one of the nominees to be a person with a disability to promote inclusivity.
Nonetheless, NGEC applauded the nomination of Eric Muriithi, the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary nominee by virtue of his youth.
“The nomination of Eric Muriithi Muuga, aged 32, is noted as a positive step towards complying with Article 55 (b) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 which obligates the State to take measures, including affirmative action programmes, to ensure that the youth have opportunities to associate, be represented and participate in political, social, economic and other spheres of life,” read the statement in part.
This statement comes after President Ruto nominated Rebecca Miano to be the country’s next Tourism Cabinet Secretary after initially fronting her to be the country’s first female Attorney General…CONTINUE READING>>
