Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has dismissed claims of a tussle with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi over office space.
The CS who was moved from the powerful Trade Investments and Industry Ministry in the first Cabinet reshuffle a fortnight ago set the record straight that there was no war between them.
Referring the Mudavadi who is also the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs as his senior and close friend, Kuria said the media reports were false and misleading.
He stated that his office is located at Harambee House while Mudavadi will remain at the Railways Headquarters.
“Contrary to media reports today, there is absolutely no tug of war between myself and my senior and close friend Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi. The PCS will continue operating from Railways Headquarters and myself from Harambee House” he clarified on X.
He added, “Principal Secretary for Performance and Delivery Management Veronicah Nduva will also be based at Harambee House to oversee Government Delivery Services, Performance Contracting, State Corporations Advisory Committee and Inspectorate of State Corporations as per Executive Order Number 1 of 2023”.
This follows reports that the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs had been designated to the Old Treasury Building Harambee Avenue.
However, Mudavadi also issued a statement clarifying that his office will not move from the Railways Headquarters.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs remains at the Railways Headquarters’ he said on X.
Squatter
The Secretary for Government Strategic Communications Kibisu Kabatesi also weighed in on the issue saying it was impossible for Kuria to be at loggerheads with his superior.
“At the outset, in the hierarchy of Government Organisation pecking order, the Hon. Moses Kuria cannot invite a brawl with his superior, the PCS-MFA” he said in a statement terming the reports appearing in a section of the media as a misrepresentation of facts.
“ Contrary to the said misrepresentation of facts related to allocation of office space to cabinet members and portfolio designation, there are no known wrangles related to allocation of offices that the Office of the Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs (OPCS-MFDA) is aware of” he added.
He warned that any public servant purporting to allocate Ministerial locations or portfolios is misguided saying it is the prerogative of the President and cannot be usurped by a Civil Servant.
He went on to claim that Mudavadi has been a squatter at the Treasury Building awaiting completion of renovations and refurbishment of his Railways Headquarters office that is now near finalization.
“Nonetheless, given his avowed unpretentiousness, the PCS-MFDA has already relocated to the premises pending completion. To therefore allege that Treasury Building is designated as the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs is to convolute public evidence in the Executive Order No.1 of January 2023 that designates the office as at Kenya Railways headquarters, off Haile Selassie Avenue, P.O BOX 62345 – 00100, Nairobi “ he explained.
