The government has initiated a comprehensive rejuvenation of state regulatory agencies to streamline service delivery, enhance standards and curb wastage.
Speaking during the conference to assess the status of the campaign to revitalise and re-energise regulatory authorities and agencies Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said regulatory authorities play a vital role in ensuring the proper functioning of state agencies.
Mudavadi said that overlapping of functions has rendered many agencies redundant adding the situation could be salvaged if proper policy interventions to consolidate their functions were put in place.
“In the financial sector for example there exists an overlap of functions in regulatory bodies like the Capital Markets Authority and Insurance Regulatory Authority whose consolidation on one framework would enhance the collective impact to streamline regulatory processes,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi said that the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, Felix Koskei, identified the whole regulatory sector in our economy as an area that needs special attention to facilitate efficiency, safe delivery of service, cost-effectiveness, and also protect the lives of Kenyans.
He added that Koskei took the initiative to convene the comprehensive gathering involving all regulatory authorities and agencies in the country, totaling approximately 78 institutions.
Mudavadi said that the strategic move underscores the imperative for regulators to adopt to facilitate transactions by the public rather than their role being one of obstruction.
He emphasised that regulators can play a pivotal role in fostering an environment conducive to growth and innovation, thereby enabling businesses and various activities to thrive within the confines of a regulatory framework.
“A regulator is very important to make sure we get clean fertiliser, a regulator is also important to make sure we get correct medicine, and so on,” the PCS noted.
He said that they had focused on shedding light and educating stakeholders on why businesses must comply with obligations to County governments, NEMA, and other regulatory bodies.
Businesses need to understand the significance of adhering to regulatory requirements set forth by those entities to ensure environmental sustainability, public health, and safety standards are met.
“Our regulatory authorities and agencies are faced with several challenges that impede the execution of their mandates. These range from bureaucratic inefficiencies to resource constraints; from regulatory capture to technological disruptions. The hurdles are enormous. The rapid pace of change in technology, finance, and healthcare sectors poses unique regulatory dilemmas that demand innovative solutions,” Mudavadi said.
In addition, he noted that lack of coordination and coherence among regulatory bodies sometimes leads to duplicity of efforts and wastage of resources.
Head of Public Service and Chief of Staff, Felix Koskei on his part said that the crucial institutions are those that have been mandated to regulate sectors in Government and the country.
He noted that it is important to encourage these institutions and support them in running their affairs within the legal frameworks that have been given to them as well as adhere to the policies they have generated and within their delegated powers.
“I am very happy to note that for the last year, there has been a lot of improvement in various sectors despite the many challenges, especially the build environment, NEMA is now taking full charge and NTSA taking full charge on the roads and many other regulators to mention a few,” Koskei noted.
He urged regulatory bodies to implement their work under fewer instructions and read the laws and authority that give them the power to oversee the respective sectors so that there is equity, fairness, accountability, and objectivity when it comes to service delivery.
By Fatma Said
