The Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Public Service and Human Capital Development, Justin Muturi, has reaffirmed Kenya’s Commitment to upholding the principles of the African Charter on Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of a capacity building workshop for directors, heads of Human Resource Management & Development on the piloting of State Parties Assessment Tool (SPAT) held at the Kenya School of Government, Mombasa, the CS emphasized collective action, underscoring the government’s dedication to building a public service that embodies excellence, trust, and equity, setting a benchmark for Africa.
“Through cooperation, commitment, and shared values, we will foster the growth of transparent, accountable, and efficient public service institutions that serve our citizens with dedication and pride,” Muturi said.
Muturi said the objectives of the charter partly resonate with Article 232 of the Kenyan constitution, majorly on promoting the principles and values of public service whose objective is ensuring transparent service delivery, through harmonization of policies and procedures related to Public Service and Administration among member states.
He added that several member states have already piloted the SPAT, among them; Namibia, Tanzania and South Africa and it was therefore necessary for Kenya to pilot, adopt, fast rack and integrate SPAT into reporting processes to ensure standardized monitoring, evaluation and reporting to foster comparative learning in strengthening the public service frameworks and subsequent reporting mandates as expected by the charter.
“The adoption of the African Charter on values and principles of Public Service and Administration was done during the 16th Ordinary Session of the Heads of States and Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” Muturi said.
The charter, he added, became the first legally binding regional Public Service and Administration instrument with effect from 23rd July 2016.
The charter promotes and improves quality public service delivery, including fighting corruption and generally building a capable state for accelerated development in Africa.
“From the insights gained over the week on piloting the SPAT, we need to reflect on the principles of the charter and recognize that it is not enough to just pilot and adopt the tool and these values, we must live them daily in our workplaces,” he said.
Muturi insisted on the need to embed these principles into the very fabric of Kenya’s Public Service institutions, ensuring they become a cornerstone of governance.
He emphasized that the country has a unique opportunity to shape its future by upholding the charter’s objectives, reaffirming Kenya’s capability and commitment to achieving excellence, trust and equity in public service.
The Principal Secretary of State Department for Public Service, Amos Gathecha, highlighted that the three-day workshop provided a crucial tool for assessing performance against key values and principles.
Gathecha reiterated that this tool was designed to enhance transparency, accountability, and cooperation among member states, reinforcing the commitment to a more effective and ethical public service.
“I want to urge you to take this seriously and create champions in your ministries who run with this tool. I have gone through it, it has 350 items that need to be answered to and we therefore need people to give it full attention so that we can fully comply,” Gathecha said.
By Fatma Said
