The government is working on strategies to institutionalise the Objective Matrix Method (OMAX) of productivity measurement as it seeks to increase productivity and reduce waste of public funds.
Stakeholders in the public service are of the view that to reduce the public wage bill, there needs to be a dynamic labour force that is competent, technology-oriented, and working in a conducive environment.
Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary (CS) Florence Bore, speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday during the 3rd wage bill conference, said that the conference’s co-objective is to identify strategies to facilitate the national and county governments to achieve a wage bill revenue ratio of 35 percent.
She acknowledged that the conference is the culmination of resolutions from the 10th ordinary session meeting that took place in December 2023 adding that it is a collective measure that gives the government and private sector a task to bring innovative and practical solutions towards a sustainable public service wage bill in order to make resources available for development.
The CS said that the government is under pressure to improve public service performance by containing expenditures and factors such as public service wage bills, operational, and pension costs.
“We must prioritise needs and make tough decisions. We cannot continue to burden our taxpayers and future generations with unsustainable wage bill. We must prioritise and ensure that our public service wage bill is within our means by being responsible and accountable in our budgeting and expenditure,” said Bore.
She said that it is important to address issues such as low productivity, duplication of duties, wastage of public resources, leveraging on technology, innovation in payroll management and quality and citizen-centred service delivery.
The CS urged public officers to be accountable to the people they serve and serve them with the utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, efficiency and justice.
She highlighted that the public wage bill is not just about reducing wages but also creating a conducive environment for job creation, which will increase revenue and lead to economic growth.
Bore advised that salaries and allowances should be distributed fairly, adding that performance-based pay and incentives should be used to increase productivity and efficiency in public agencies.
She said that her ministry through the national productivity and competitive center has developed a productivity measurement framework with the public Service while SRC and the State Department of Cabinet Affairs have provided technical support to 507 institutions and trained over 8,189 officers.
The CS called upon the public service institutions to take advantage of the programme and build their internal capacity while urging public service employees to embrace the culture of productivity and efficient service delivery in order to guarantee citizens’ satisfaction.
By Sharon Atieno
