Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has unveiled a comprehensive plan to transform and revamp public service in Kenya.
In a statement on his X account, the former Trade Cabinet Secretary detailed a set of 10 promises, highlighting his commitment to ushering in a new era of accountability, efficiency, and transparency in government service operations.
Kuria pledges to reform the Public Service Ministry
Moses Kuria has pledged to make the government more accountable to the people by implementing Wajibika Town Hall Forums.
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"We will make the government accountable to the people through Wajibika Town Hall Forums that we will hold with all the Ministries in all the Counties," he stated.
These forums will engage with all Ministries in every county, allowing citizens to actively participate in government decision-making.
The new Public Service CS plans to roll out a digital tool for tracking the performance of contracts, project delivery, and the performance of individual public servants.
These results will be shared with the public on a monthly basis, promoting transparency and efficiency.
Kuria also intends to introduce a digital Ombudsman tool known as "Pasha" for the public to report cases of denial of service or poor service by national and county government institutions.
These reports will be made available for public and media scrutiny, further enhancing accountability.
"We will implement a digital Ombudsman tool to be known as Pasha for the public to report all cases of denial of or poor service by national and county government institutions and avail all such incidents for public and media scrutiny," he pledged.
Kuria also noted that the National Youth Service is set to undergo a transformation, becoming a mandatory leadership college for young people aspiring to enter public service and disciplined forces. Simultaneously, it will serve as the contractor of choice for government projects, recruiting 100,000 youths directly every year and creating an ecosystem of one million indirect jobs.
Kuria aims to make Kenya a thought leader in governance by converting the Kenya School of Government into the African School of Government. This institution will lead in emerging issues such as peace, security, climate action, and democracy, fostering global partnerships to support the African Union Agenda 2063.
The CS envisions modernizing the public service by replacing retiring public servants with young Kenyans while maintaining an 80:20 ratio between technical staff and support staff.
According to Kuria, in his ministry, a digital, transparent, and verifiable hiring tool will be introduced, ensuring that every Kenyan has an opportunity to work for the government, regardless of social, economic, or political status.
This tool will also encourage private sector and overseas recruiters to use the same platform for jobs and internships.
"We will give every Kenyan an opportunity to work for the government irrespective of social, economic or political status through a digital, transparent and verifiable hiring tool that will distribute available opportunities across the country while seeking to enjoin the Private Sector and Overseas recruiters to use the same transparent platform for jobs and Internships under the mantra 'lobo Bib Connection'," Kuria pledged.
Kuria noted that the Huduma Network will be expanded to cover all corners of Kenya, providing an extended range of services, including those related to the 5,000 government processes available online. The goal is to make Huduma Centres global leaders in E-Commerce and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
Kuria's plan includes a comprehensive reform of state corporations and state-owned enterprises to reduce wastage and alleviate the burden on taxpayers.
These entities will be restructured to play a more supportive role in achieving the objectives of the national government.
Kuria pledges to institute government-wide business process re-engineering, technology upgrades, and organizational reviews to enhance government efficiency and effectiveness. A coordination framework will be put in place to eliminate hand-offs, red tape, and overlaps, ensuring more effective service delivery.
