Newly appointed Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha arrived at work on Friday to find more than 100 employees absent.
A video that went viral on social media captured Prof Magoha questioning ministry employees after he established that many of their colleagues had not reported to work.
In the office he had visited, the ministry official who was taking Prof Magoha around had a difficult time explaining why the occupant of that office was yet to report to work.
IRRITATED
Most of the work stations at the ministry’s Jogoo House B headquarters were also empty, with only a few employees spotted at their desks as the CS was being taken round.
“That is the seat, there is the boss,” the ministry official taking Prof Magoha struggled to explain while pleading with the CS to visit other floors of the building, promising that the situation might be different.
But a visibly irritated Prof Magoha cut him short: “Unafikiri itanibadilisha kichwa (you think that will change my mind),” he said, laughing.
“If I start coming here at 10am, what will these people do? They will start coming in at 10am. That’s it. So, is there a need for me to continue seeing this, si nitakasirika bure (I will just get annoyed). “People have to sit up and work otherwise I will remove them. Utapata wengine wale wanafanya kazi (you will find others who can work). They can go to a ministry where they can sleep,” he said. He proceeded to greet a few of the ministry staff who were present as those guiding him around watched, visibly frightened.
“Hatupigani, si ni kazi tu, na mimi nafurahi nimewapata kwa kazi, lakini onyeni hao wengine (we are not fighting, it is just work, and I am happy that I’ve found you at work but warn the others),” he told the employees.
Ministry staff interviewed by the Saturday Nation regarding the incident expressed surprise at Prof Magoha’s early morning visit.
CONSEQUENCES
“Many of us are not used to reporting to office that early. We are used to reporting at around 9am to 10am. We were shocked to be told that he was already in the building,” said one staffer who did not want to go on record discussing his new boss.
A junior official expressed fears that those who were not at their desks when the CS arrived could face dire consequences. “We do not know what will happen to those of us who were not present when he came. We hope nobody took a roll call. Looks like the honeymoon is over,” she said.
When he gave his first press briefing on Thursday, Prof Magoha warned lazy employees at the ministry and in the education sector in general that they would face the sack.
He promised to set targets and timelines and warned those who would not perform that they would face the music.
He also vowed to work fearlessly to deliver on his new mandate, saying that he would not entertain any political interference.