Sifuna: Why I hail Chirchir's tenure as Energy CS

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has lauded Davis Chirchir’s tenure as Energy Cabinet Secretary.

He expressed his sentiments in the Senate on Wednesday, February 26, while commenting on the public spat between Kenya Power and the Nairobi City County Government (NCCG).

Sifuna said that Chirchir was a compliant Cabinet Secretary who cooperated with lawmakers when called upon to explain issues affecting Kenyans in the energy sector.

“Yesterday, I ran into the former CS for Energy, Davies Chirchir, one of the most astute and few Cabinet Secretaries I respect because he interacted with members of this House and explained government policy. Yesterday I was saying if he were still in that docket, I am sure the drama you are seeing in Nairobi—of the Nairobi County government dumping garbage outside Kenya Power offices and Kenya Power retaliating by cutting power to county government offices—would not happen,” Sifuna said.

“You would not see those things because he would take leadership. Mr Speaker, if you look at the relationship between county governments and national governments, they are supposed to be cordial.”

However, Sifuna criticised the current Energy CS, Opiyo Wandayi, saying he focuses more on politicking than on service delivery to Kenyans.

“Where you see a Cabinet Secretary, there is a fight in your docket, but you do nothing at all. All you talk about is 2027 politics. You have failed as a Cabinet Secretary. So, Honorable Speaker, we want this gentleman to at least appear. Let him not fear this house,” he added.

On Wednesday morning, CS Wandayi attended a meeting with Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, chaired by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei.

The meeting resolved outstanding differences between the county government and Kenya Power, according to a press briefing issued by Sakaja at City Hall shortly after the meeting