Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has announced that he will petition the appointment of former Othaya MP Mary Wambui as the Chair of the National Employment Authority (NEA).
NEA was the brainchild of the senator while he served as a nominated member of parliament.
Joining a large section of Kenyans who have shunned President Uhuru Kenyatta’s appointment of Wambui, Sakaja expressed his disappointment with the government, arguing that the State was not taking the issue of youth unemployment seriously.
“The day his Excellency the President assented to this (NEA) bill was probably my most fulfilling as a Member of Parliament,” Sakaja recalled in a statement.
“I was hopeful that the government would take the institution seriously and see it as an opportunity to streamline access to the job market…I have severally expressed frustration with the slow pace of implementation of this institution ad the seeming lack of goodwill to fully operationalise it,” the Senator noted.
He noted NEA needs a visionary leader with sound knowledge of the issue of unemployment in the country, specifically someone with at least seven years of experience in Human Resource Management.
“There are many young Kenyans who have distinguished themselves in the Field of Human Resource Management both locally and even to the International Labour Organisation (ILO),” Sakaja continued in protest of the appointment of the 69-year-old Wambui.
However, Sakaja affirmed his friendship with the former MP since during their days serving in Parliament, expressing his confidence in her ability to serve Kenyans in other capacities, but not that of the NEA Chair.
“I, therefore, urge her to politely decline this particular appointment,” Sakaja wrote.
“I have further instructed my lawyers as well as those of Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association to file a petition this morning seeking to quash this appointment,” the Senator further said.
Wambui was appointed the NEA Chair in an October 14 gazette notice that was effective immediately.