During the presidential campaigns, the then deputy president William Ruto claimed that his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta had sidelined him in the running of the Jubilee government.
Ruto, in one of his media interviews, said he will not allow his deputy president to be sidelined the way he was put aside should he win the presidency.
“On my first day in office, I have every intention to sign an executive order, according to Article 21E of the Kenya Kwanza coalition agreement, to clarify the roles of a Deputy President, which will include coordinating Cabinet affairs,” said Ruto when he picked Gachagua as his deputy in May 2022.
According to the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the deputy president is recognized as the principal assistant of the President.
While unveiling a list of Cabinet Secretaries for consideration on Tuesday, September 27, President William Ruto assigned seven key functions to his deputy Rigathi Gachagua.
The president said the designated seven key duties will be ratified through an executive order.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will chair all cabinet committees and oversee the implementation of cabinet decisions across all ministries and departments.
The former Mathira MP will also coordinate intergovernmental relations between the national government and county governments as well as chair the intergovernmental budget and economic council (IBEC).
Gachagua was also assigned the role of coordination of planning and supervision of development partners funded programs and projects.
Ruto, further assigned Gachagua the role of overseeing public sector reforms and other functions the President may assign him from time to time.
Addressing journalists at State House, Ruto said he has assigned the DP the roles to enable him to execute his roles as President.
“As I promised, my deputy is going to be a very busy person,” Ruto said in a statement at State House, Nairobi ahead of the unveiling of members of his cabinet.
