Tana River County Assembly on Tuesday approved the nomination of Mr. Joshua Kofa Jara to the position of County Secretary.
County Assembly adopted a report of the County Public Management, Administration and Information Communication Technology (ICT) committee that recommended the approval of the nominee to the position.
The report was tabled in the House by the committee chairman, Mr. Mohamed Buya Yusa, who said the committee was satisfied that the nominee was qualified and competent to take over the responsibilities of County Secretary.
Mr. Yusa said the nominee had tremendous expertise and experience in public administration drawn from over 35 years of work experience with various public and private sector institutions among them the Kenya Airways and other elite institutions of governance.
He also said the Mr. Jara’s experience in financial management would come in handy to ensure that county financial resources were prudently used and hence strengthen service delivery.
The motion to adopt the report was supported by Garsen North Ward Representative Salim Bonaya and his Chewani and Kipini West counterparts Sauda Maiya Loda and Musa Wario before it was unanimously passed by the eight MCAs present during the sitting.
Earlier, the motion had been threatened with deferment due to lack of quorum as only seven out of the 23 Members of the County Assembly were present, forcing Temporary Speaker Manasseh Guyo, to order the bell to be rang for five minutes. One more MCA walked in.
It took less than one hour to dispense with the report, which was laid in the Assembly at 2.55 pm by Mr. Yusa, who then issued a notice of motion that he even introduced before the sitting was adjourned for ten minutes.
When the sitting resumed, Mr. Yusa moved the motion seconded by Mr. Bonaya and supported by Loda and Wario before all the MCAs approved the same by acclamation.
Mr. Jara, a graduate of Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Nairobi, is thus set to be formally appointed to the position by Governor Dhadho Gaddae Godhana.
The 60-year old former executive in various local and international companies, including the Kenya Airways and Rwanda Air where he was Head of Operations and Operations Manager respectively will be the second substantive Tana River County Secretary.
Mr. Jara will take over from Mr. Salim Bagana, who has been acting County Secretary for more than one year since the substantive County Secretary, Mr. Abdu Dae Godana resigned to take up responsibilities as an executive committee member in Lamu County.
The position attracted ten persons, including Mr. Jara, Mr. Bagana, County Public Board Vice Chairperson Milka Karhayu and Mr. Ambari Guyo.
Others were Mugho Stephen Mwakisha, Nkaduda Mpembe Hiribae, Edward Matthew Yesse, Jillo Alex Kase, Omar Abdalla Dhadho and Zainabu Hadulla Kase.
They were interviewed in Malindi in December 2017 but the process was delayed after a resident challenged the exercise through a petition filed with the Public Service Commission.
By Emmanuel Masha
