PROFILE: Rarely Exposed Side Of Anne Waiguru
Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru has been the prime focus of news headlines all week, following accusations of corruption and misuse of public funds in her ministry.
While her name is on everyone’s lips, here are a few things about her rarely exposed side that you probably didn’t know:
Waiguru is among six women in Kenya’s Cabinet of 18.
When she was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta as Devolution CS in April 2013, many were taken aback by her seeming quick ascent to such a top government position.
Also because outside Kenya’s Presidential framework, this position made her one of the few individuals in Kenya wielding a considerable amount of power and influence, yet few had heard of her before this time. Her docket has the largest budget – KSh 84 billion – and her span of control of government functions includes critical areas that were central in President Uhuru’s election campaign such as economic planning, women, youth affairs, and special programs.
She wonders how come when she was appointed Cabinet Secretary, people asked why, yet, the same was not asked about her male colleagues.
“When women do very well, people are surprised. When men do very well, it was expected. I see it even now when people tell me that I am doing very well as if they did not expect me to,” she says.
Those who have worked with Waiguru, describe her as a runaway train, the main reason Uhuru likes her – because nothing stops her. She works hard and keeps very long hours.
“There is no moment of my waking time that I am not thinking about something the government can do. Once you get into the public service, you realize you can do so much for the country if you get the opportunity. I am passionate about doing something for that ordinary Kenyan on the street. I look at a person and say why is he pulling a cart using his body? I think about how we can get these people to access a Tuk Tuk to help them pull the cart instead. When you are in government you can actually make it happen,” she said of her passion in the public service.
Waiguru describes herself as “extremely focused, disciplined, hardworking, smart and flexible”, and says that she is easily adaptable to change when she discovers that she is headed in the wrong direction.
Her father (deceased) was in the police force and she attributes her strictness to him.
“He is the reason I am here. I grew up in a family where hard work and discipline was emphasized. You will notice the same with my brother and sister.”
The embattled CS, now in her early forties, joined the public service under an initiative of the World Bank in 2008. Since then, she has worked in various posts including:
-Head of Governance and the Economic Stimulus Programme (EPS) at the National Treasury. During her stint in this post, President Uhuru was then the Finance Minister. ESP was designed to accelerate economic growth following the slump caused by the 2007-2008 post-election violence. Under the stimulus, the government set aside KSh 20 billion for targeted projects to spur growth throughout the economy.
-Director, Integrated Financial Management and Information System (IFMIS) at the former Ministry of Finance. This was her immediate job before her appointment as Cabinet Secretary. As IFMIS Director, Waiguru used her role to influence financial management in Government by implementing financial policies and programs for efficiency and transparency in the way government uses money.
When she first joined the public service, she confesses that she did not harbour any dreams of becoming a Minister.
“The one thing I really wanted to be for a very long time was a Permanent Secretary (PS) because it was the highest level a civil servant attained. I thought if I became a PS I would influence policies,” she reminisces.
She even applied for several PS jobs.
While serving at the Public Service Reform Secretariat, Waiguru realised that for her contribution to be felt in the government, she had to put her best at the support level.
“Work in such a way that you get distinguished and your work is picked at the policy level. Once I understood that, I did not yearn for a big position.”
The mother of three boys admits that her appointment threw her in the limelight.
“I have never been a public person, I would never take myself to the media and hence people did not know I existed. You can’t have a chat and have a personal opinion because it will be said to be an opinion from the Cabinet Secretary. So my kids are my refuge.”
On corruption and work ethic in the government, Waiguru says systems and programmes are as good as the people they serve.
“You criticise the public service yet the people who run the service are your brothers and sisters, you live in the same house. When you pick your brother from the office and you have tea for four hours or run personal errands, you are involved in the bad practices. Also, who gives officers bribes?”
Waiguru has grown a thick skin over the years since being in the limelight.
“I worried in the beginning until I got used to the newspaper articles. You are used to someone criticising you positively but some people are outright nasty. I now read comments on Twitter and laugh.”
With a number of functions having been devolved from the national to the county governments, Waiguru’s job description can be quite a headache, but she says she does not have any sleepless nights.
“I never put trust in myself. I am very conscious of the fact that I am human being and I have limitations so I do the best I can. Once I know I have done all I can, I go home and sleep easy because even if I stay awake nothing is going to change anyway.”
READ ALSO: How Special Is Waiguru? Uhuru Asked
She is a staunch Christian who draws her inspiration from her faith. If she left government today or was moved to another docket Waiguru says she would still remain energetic.
“I am like that because of my church upbringing. When there is a crisis you will not find me worried. What is the worst that can happen in life?”
She adds that if she was to lose her job in the government, life would move on.
“I am very passionate about public service and what I do but I am not attached to it. In other words, if it went today, I would still move on. Serving in the public service changes the way you see things. When you are out there, you tell government what it can do better but when you are in here with all our problems, no one will ever give you a pat in the back!”
One of the women who inspire her is Winnie Mandela.
“I wonder what her story is. I admire her ability to be resilient – to keep going. She was not perfect but there must be a story that has never been told. We are very judgmental about people but I always ask what the story is before making any assumptions.”
With regards to her post as the CS, Waiguru says she wants Kenyans to think of her when they think about transformation.
“I want people to talk about my contribution to the transformation of Kenya, to see me as one who played a key role not because I had a docket but because I was committed to it and I had the ability to make that a reality.”
This is an edited extract from an article that appeared in Forbes Woman Africa magazine June/July 2014 issue by Carole Kimutai, currently the Managing Editor at Tuko.co.ke.
Image: Courtesy
No comments
Post a Comment