CAPTION: President Uhuru Kenyatta and Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi at a past event. [Photo: jamhurimagazine.com]
Professor Jacob Kaimenyi has opened up on his experience serving as a Cabinet Secretary since the Jubilee administration was inaugurated.
In an interactive series, 'Ask your Question' run by Sunday Nation, Kaimenyi said it has not been a walk in the park serving in two crucial dockets which require total attention of the CS in charge.
Kaimenyi, a dentist by profession, was first appointed Education CS before he was transferred to the Lands Ministry where he is the current boss.
"In both ministries, there have been challenges in service delivery and we have put in place measures to address them to the best of our ability," he notes.
In the Education Ministry, Kaimenyi, who is former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Nairobi (UON), points out that constant strikes by teachers over salaries was his main challenge.
"The strikes were indeed a threat to predictable school calendar. To resolve this, the Government made sure that the unions were made to sign a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) whose term lasts for four years," the CS said.
Resistance to land reforms has been Kaimenyi's major setback in his efforts to bring changes in his current docket.
The CS, however, notes that he has managed to encourage majority of the members of staff to appreciate the need for reforms.
He adds that among his outstanding achievements in the Lands Ministry were dissolving 287 Land Control Boards and restituting news ones, so as to ensure gender balance and professionalism in the appointment of members.
Others include: "Processing over 3 million title deeds, from 2013 to-date at a cost of Sh4.46 billion, digitised 13 registries at a cost of Sh1.2 billion, finalised National Spatial Plan, which was launched on March 1, 2017, prepared the Physical Planning Bill and Land Value Index Bill."