Elgeyo-Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich has cancelled planned interviews of senior officers, internally advertised by the County Public Service Board.

 Rotich said shortlisted candidates for the position of directors and Iten County Referral Hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO) did not meet his desired criteria.

 The county boss has advised the board to advertise the positions afresh externally to attract more suitable candidates.

 In a notice to the board chair, Rotich said a fresh advertisement will give more candidates opportunity to express interest and eventually recruit the most suitable and qualified candidates for the positions that can deliver.

 Four positions for directors and the CEO post for the Referral Hospital were advertised internally advisements had earlier been considered as a way of managing the county’s wage bill.

 They include positions of Director Resource Mobilisation and Partnerships Development, Director Peace, Conflict Resolution and Disaster Management, Youth Empowerment and Enterprise Development (Pepea Programme) and Director, Service Delivery Unit.

 “The positions were established to expedite the fulfillment of my manifesto. But from the list of shortlisted candidates, it clearly shows that either few candidates applied or few were shortlisted,” Rotich’s letter to the board reads in part.

 “This reduced the pool of qualified professionals to choose from which may not yield my desired results that meet the expectations of our community,” added the governor.

 The advertisement saw the board shortlist few number of candidates while some were shortlisted in almost all positions causing a public outcry.