Malala Renews Push For Ruto To Appoint Govt Spokesperson
He termed the lack of a government spokesperson as the biggest blow to President Ruto's government and called for recruitment for the highly-coveted position to be finalised.
Marvin Chege 
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleophas Malala on Monday, July 31 called for the expedition of the appointment of a government spokesperson to effectively communicate the projects being implemented by President William Ruto's government.
Addressing stakeholders during the ICT Ministry's launch of One Years Status Report at Serena Hotel, the former Kakamega Senator argued that there is a gap in terms of effective communication on government developments, arguing that the Kenya Kwanza regime has accomplished plenty in terms of projects.
He termed the lack of a government spokesperson as the biggest blow to President Ruto's government and called for recruitment for the highly-coveted position to be finalised.
Former Government Spokesperson, Cyrus Oguna. /FILE
"The issue of dissemination of information regarding government policy and development project; Bwana CS there has been a gap in communicating what the government is doing. We have a lot of projects that the government is doing that have impacted positively society but communication has been missing.
"I think it is a result of you not taking that role of disseminating information not only in your ministry but also in other ministries. Bwana CS, I would like to urge you to expedite the recruitment of a government spokesperson because we don't have one who will be disseminating that information to the masses," Malala urged.
Speaking at the same event, ICT Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo noted that the recruitment process of the next government spokesperson was at its conclusion, having been handled by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
He explained that the recruitment was delayed due to a technical hitch which has since been addressed and that in an earlier exercise, PSC failed to get a suitable person.
"I wish to report that in the next two weeks, we should be able to have a capable and meticulous person to do the work," he said.
"We didn't get someone competent to do the job on behalf of the government and we had to ask public service to conduct a fresh process."
Viral Tea observed that on Saturday, January 7, President William Ruto appointed former KTN News anchor Mike Gitonga as the Secretary of State Functions, the Secretary of State being a revamped Office of Government Spokesperson (OGS) that was previously occupied by Rtd Col. Cyrus Oguna.
The OGS acted as the nerve centre of government communications. However, the core mandate of the Secretary of State Functions is to coordinate, plan, manage and implement communication of government policies, programs and initiatives.
It is also mandated with providing oversight of the technical operations of the Directorates of Information, Public Communication, and Film Services, Kenya News Agency, Government Advertising Agency, Office of the Information Secretary, the Government Media Centre and all affiliated functions in various Ministries and Government Agencies.
A month later, PSC advertised the position of government spokesperson, seeking applications from Kenyans for the lucrative role which falls under the State Department of Broadcasting and Telecommunications.
How Much Does A Government Spokesperson Earn?
Successful candidates will earn a monthly salary of Ksh970,000 including a basic salary ranging between Ksh292,000 and Ksh576,000.
They are also entitled to a house allowance of Ksh100,000 a month, entertainment allowance of Ksh100,000 a month, extraneous allowance of Ksh100,000, and domestic servants allowance of Ksh100,000, all coming to a total of Ksh400,000.
Also, the officeholder receives a leave allowance according to the existing rates in the Civil service. Other benefits include medical cover and 30 working days of leave per financial year.
In total, a government Spokesperson can earn a monthly salary of at least Ksh692,765 and at most Ksh976,120 per month.
