On the Radar: President Ruto to host vice chancellors of public universities

President William Ruto will host the vice chancellors of public universities at State House, Nairobi, from 9 am.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and higher education stakeholders will also be present at the event.

The meeting comes against a backdrop of a seven-day strike notice issued by the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU) to all councils of public universities and constituent colleges.

The lecturers cited unresolved disputes over collective bargaining agreements.

In July this year, National Treasury CS John Mbadi hinted that the government could consider outsourcing services in underfunded institutions, stating that it can no longer fully cater to the needs of government-sponsored students.

According to the Treasury CS, public universities are collectively owed more than Sh4 billion—a debt he attributed to years of educating students without adequate state funding since 2016.

Murkomen to wrap up security tour of Nyanza region with Kisumu meeting

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen will be in Kisumu County for the 42nd Jukwaa la Usalama grassroots engagement.

It will be the last county in the Nyanza region to host the security meeting.

The CS will begin his day with a security briefing at County Commissioner’s boardroom before paying area governor Anyang’ Nyong’o a courtesy call.

He will inspect the ID Mobile Registration at the county commissioner’s ground and then hold a town hall meeting at Tom Mboya Labour College.

Mbadi to appear before MPs over Electronic Government Procurement

National Treasury CS John Mbadi will appear before the Committee on Implementation over the (e-GP) system that centralises and digitises all government procurement activities in Kenya.

Officials from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority will accompany the CS.

E-GP seeks to improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability in public procurement by automating processes from planning to payment, in line with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

However, the High Court has stopped the compulsory use of the system, ruling that public entities are free to receive and submit tender documents either electronically or manually, as long as they meet the requirements of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act.

The court said the conservatory orders will remain in force until October 15, when they will lapse unless extended or varied by the court.

Council of Governors, Paul Kirui, Legal Consultancy Group Limited, and others moved to court, seeking to suspend the decision compelling government entities and county governments to implement e-procurement.

County governments have been opposed to the move arguing that there is no legal, regulatory or policy framework that anchors e-GP system.

Safina Party Handover

Safina Party's founder, Senior Counsel Paul Muite, will formally hand over the leadership to Jimi Wanjigi at the National Special Delegates Conference (NDC), which will be held at the Ngong Race Course, Waterfront, Nairobi, from 10 am.

The party was founded in 1995 and has consistently championed social liberalism, social democracy, and civic nationalism, while maintaining a firm stand against corruption and abuse of power.