The government has hatched a plan to eradicate a culture that has seen many civil servants perform their duties in an acting capacity for months or in some cases years.
On Tuesday, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi disclosed that his office is developing public service management Bill among others seeking to reward public servants based on their performance. The Bill once passed into law will also standardize management of performance in the public sector.
It will provide a framework for rewarding meritocracy and performance while discouraging non-performance. Speaking during the signing of performance contract by government ministries, Mudavadi noted that, this will be the first-time public service management will be anchored in law.
“The thinking behind the Bill is to ensure optimal Human Resource deployment in in the public service. The Bill will give legal backing to officers who toil without being rewarded and end the era of acting for too-long in the public service,” he said.
At the event attended by President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua, Mudavadi disclosed that going forward, Ministries, Departments and Agencies will be measured on new performance indicators that are core to their agenda.
It will include digitalization of government services to accelerate the adoption of ICT in service delivery, implementation of presidential directive on tree growing and productivity mainstreaming to promote culture of performance.
President William Ruto has said he will protect public resources with zeal, warning public servants that it will not be business as usual for individuals with affinity to abuse public resources.
Ruto regretted that it has become fashionable for some people to work in public offices to steal.
“We will not wait until when money is lost. We will deal with it from the level when we notice its signs.”
He maintained that there will be no money to steal but to deliver Government programmes.
“We must work harder and better to deliver on our promises. We have an opportunity to change our country.”
Kenya’s Public Service dominated by an ageing population – SRC Report
