State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Principal Secretary (PS) Prof. Edward Kisiang’ani today presided over the signing of performance contracts with heads of departments (HODs) to improve service delivery.
The PS said that the occasion was significant as sectional managers put pen to paper on their performance obligation because they are working under strict parameters where they are required to make a contribution to the achievements of the agreed objectives and ultimately be judged on their commitments.
Prof. Kisiang’ani maintained that performance is critical since it is the way the public is going to determine how government officers are using public resources to serve them properly.
He asserted that the HODs understand the enormous responsibility that the signature carries, as both the public and the Ministry expect a lot from the need to improve service delivery.
The PS urged the HODs to lead by example by avoiding tardiness and be more proactive in their daily operations since it is pegged on the signed contracts to register good results.
“You should be the first ones to come to office and the last ones to leave,” directed the PS, stressing that the performance indicators the HODs have committed themselves to cannot be achieved with tardiness and absenteeism.
Prof. Kisiang’ani appealed to the HODs to exercise a lot of responsibility because it is only by doing so, that officers under them can also emulate the ethics of work.
He likened them to torchbearers of their respective departments and urged them to ensure that they do their work plans properly.
The PS also encouraged them to give work instructions to their junior officers so that at their own minor level, they can have a scheme of assessing how their officers are performing on a daily basis.
Further, Prof. Kisiang’ani also advised them to be better leaders and managers by providing solutions to problems affecting their departments and staff instead of shouting and vilifying them.
He urged the HODs to communicate departmental goals, vision, and core values in a more effective and efficient manner in order to boost morale.
The PS, however, cautioned them against discriminating any worker on ethnic, gender, and social/class grounds, terming it immoral, and emphasised that everybody deserves equal services.
He reminded them of the President’s commitment to transform the country through the five critical pillars, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Universal Health Care (UHC), Agriculture and Food Security, Housing and Settlement, and the Information Superhighway, which has the subsidiary of Climate Change and Environment.
Through these pillars, according to the PS, the Government has made the decision to empower the people of Kenya, adding that as the HODs implement these performance contracts, they must remember it is not for show business but for the provision of better services that satisfy the taxpayer’s needs and an answer to all the citizen’s questions.
“I encourage you to implement the open door policy through proactive measures, humility, and curiosity and not allow crooks who, in your name, can exploit your absence and seclusion to extort money from citizens seeking services, which consequently amounts to corruption,” stated the PS.
He further cautioned the HODs to be vigilant of their environment since they will take sole responsibility if their reputation is ruined by cartels within or without because they did not use their networks properly to attend to the needs of the public.
As the Ministry that is leading the way to ensure migration to the digital platforms, set forth by the President, is fully achieved, Prof. Kisiang’ani urged the HODs not to fail the President and the country as a whole by stressing on duty and overall improved performance of government.
He insisted that the HODs learn from his mode of operation through serving everyone equally, avoiding procrastination and dereliction of duty, adopting an open door policy for junior staff, and mentoring the junior staff to grow through in-house promotions.
The PS affirmed that through crafting of policy strategy in communication, which is currently in Cabinet, and discussions with the Head of Public Service mean that the government’s communication centre is domiciled at the Ministry and urged all communication officers to support the centre, expand it, and, through additional funding, improve Government performance.
He congratulated all the HODs who signed the performance contract and wished them well as very distinguished officers in the Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Digital Economy.
By Michael Omondi
