Sonko: I can hire and fire whenever I want
An unapologetic Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has told his critics that suspending or sacking officials is a global governance and management practice.
The embattled governor shelled out Sh858,400 for a full page ad in Friday’s Daily Nation after he was criticised for suspending 16 county officials following the Monday tragedy at Precious Talents school that killed eight pupils.
The governor protested against an article published by the Star on Thursday which stated the county was thrown into a crisis following his move to suspend the staff.
“Nothing can be further from the truth,” said Sonko.
He also took issues with another article published by the People Daily newspaper insinuating that his drastic action against county officials was a survival tactic against the ongoing investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on him.
RESHUFFLING
“I will not have any qualms at all firing, suspending or reshuffling employees a thousand times until I instill the right work culture and attitude in Nairobi to enable me realize my dream of restoring the long, lost glory of the “Green City under the Sun’,” he said in the statement.
He reminded the County Assembly leadership that he was still the governor of Nairobi and the buck stops with him.
“I reserve the constitutional right to hire, fire, suspend or deploy any member of my cabinet without reference to anyone,” said Sonko.
On Wednesday, the governor suspended CEC Charles Kerich (Finance) who was his onetime darling and ‘Mr Fix It’ and 15 others.