Fast track the draft secretaries Bill 2019- Kenya National Secretaries Association tells government.

KENASA Chairperson Andrew Osundwa (centre) flanked by other officials during the 9th Annual General meeting at Sai Rock in Mombasa.

BY PETER KOMBE

The Kenya National Secretaries Association KENASA has urged the government to fast track the draft Secretaries Bill 2019 saying it focuses on the aspirations and needs of secretaries throughout the country.

Speaking to the Coast newspaper in Mombasa on Friday during their 9^th annual general meeting in a Mombasa hotel Kenya National Secretaries Association Chairperson Andrew Osundwa said a lot of parameters needs to be put in place to ensure smooth running of the profession.

The KENASA Chair says office administrators play crucial role adding that they act as watchdogs in both public and private offices.

“This profession like any other profession should have all the legal backups. And it high time the government should look into our bill. We rolled it in September last year,” he noted.

Once the bill is passed Osundwa says will solve some of the concerns that the professionals in the field face.

According to him there are over 100,000 secretaries with only 5,500 having been registered by the association.

“It has come to our realization that we have more members than we thought. Secretaries play a fundamental role in every office. That is why we are here to deliberate on some of the emerging trends in this profession,” he said.

Some of the teething issues that the secretaries want considered as contained in the bill according to KENASA chair include among others the formation of KENASA SACCO, retirement benefits and terms of service of members.

He is optimistic that the bill will eventually see the light of the day after the concerned parties agreed to work on it.

“There are various issues that we have put in the bill. If these issues are adequately addressed this profession will blossom,” Osundwa said.

On the question of airtime allowances to office secretaries raised by members at the AGM, one of the sources (name withheld) hailing from Nairobi County opined that all secretaries deserve that.

She argues that office administrators do similar jobs everywhere.

“According to my opinion everyone deserves that airtime. At the end of the day all secretaries do similar jobs. The boss tells you to do this and that,” she said.

The Kenya National Secretaries Association KENASA is a professional association for secretaries in Kenya that provides a forum for the secretarial professionals to interact and deliberate on emerging trends affecting the profession in regards to standards, ethics and professionalism.

Its members are drawn from both public and private sectors.

This year’s 9^th annual event brought together KENASA members from different government ministries, commissions, state departments and county government officials.