Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i is arguably one of the best performing cabinet Secretaries in the Jubilee administration.
His recent appointment to head the Interior Ministry on an acting capacity following the sudden death of Joseph Ole Nkaissery has left tongues wagging.
Matiang’i has been touted to be President Uhuru Kenyatta’s knight in shinning armor or “Mr. fix it”.
His appointment to fit in Nkaissery’s shoes was a choice Uhuru made knowing all too well he, Matinag’i, will deliver to his expectations.
In three ministries he has served on a permanent and acting basis, he has left an indelible mark of change.
First, when he was sworn into the Cabinet, he took up the role of Information and Communication Cabinet Secretary and he is credited by many for steering the country from analog to digital era.
It was a daunting task for him with a petition lodged against his ministry by three leading media outlets in the country but he emerged triumphantly even at the Supreme Country.
The no-nonsense brought some sense of sanity into the Lands Ministry when again, he was appointed to head the ministry on an acting capacity after Charity Ngilu, then the Lands Minister, was suspended on graft allegations.
But his highlight has been the Education Ministry where he brought about a raft of new changes.
It is during his reign as the Education CS that Kenya held its national examinations; K.C.P.E and K.C.S.E with zero cases of cheating.
He firmly dealt with cartels in the education sector especially in the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC).
He has also re-organized the school calendar, a move described by education stakeholders as positive transformations in Kenya’s education system.
And with his hands on the security docket at a time when the country is headed for elections, the no-nonsense CS is yet again expected to steer the ministry through one of its hardest times.