Public servants in Kwale have been asked to discharge their duties with professionalism and work efficiently while offering services to the public.
Kwale County Commissioner (CC) Karuku Ngumo at the same time also urged public officers to avoid engaging in corrupt practices and uphold integrity at all times.
Ngumo who was speaking on Wednesday during a tree planting exercise in commemoration of the Africa Public Service Week at Shimba Hills forest in Mtsangatamu area said public officers in the counties need to take service delivery seriously.
He said the national government would not tolerate laziness and corruption on the part of public servants in the execution of development programs and service delivery.
The administrator said despite efforts by the government to fight corruption at all levels, the social vice still remained a key concern and asked civil servants to exercise transparency while executing their duties.
Ngumo cautioned public servants that it was not business as usual adding the government will not tolerate officers who fail to perform their work effectively.
“Going forward, it would not be business as usual as indiscipline, lethargy and corruption would not be tolerated under my watch,” Ngumo said adding that he has received numerous complaints from citizens constantly demanding better services from the government.
He added, “public officers must at all times discharge their duties with a lot of humility and uphold the public interest by putting the public good before their own.”
Ngumo warned that it would be criminal for public officers to use their positions to pilfer public resources for personal gain.
He said they should always think of their future instead of making quick gains through corrupt practices to the detriment of their career growth.
Ngumo, who was accompanied by the county ecosystems conservator George Wara said civil servants should carry out their functions with highest professional standards and should be mindful of their positions of public trust.
“Public servants who exhibit acts of laxity in the performance of their duties will face the consequences of their actions,” said Ngumo.
The County Commissioner said the government is striving towards achieving a result-oriented civil service and warned that any form of laxity, indiscipline, unethical conduct and corruption would not be entertained whatsoever.
“Public officials must approach their duties with seriousness and commitment at all times in order to achieve the set goals as outlined in the performance contracts,” he said.
He called on the public servants to embrace the virtues of attitudinal change towards official duties for the realization of a vibrant civil service.
Mr. Wara announced that 2.5 million tree seedlings have been planted in the region in the past nine months and underscored the need to create awareness among communities on the importance of conserving forests and guarding against the degradation of the environment.
Wara said the indiscriminate felling of trees could spell doom for the environment if remedial measures were not put in place to stem deforestation, depletion and degradation.
The forester noted that the government is pursuing an ambitious project aimed at increasing the country’s forest cover from the current seven percent to fifteen percent by the year 2022.
By Hussein Abdullahi
