The Public Service Commission (PSC) has been called upon to weed out negative practices that hamper effective service delivery to Kenyans.
Acting National Treasury CS Ambassador Ukur Yatani said PSC should strive to eradicate corrupt practices and impunity among public servants as they are dealing with a society that knows their rights, are highly enlightened and empowered to demand quality service.
Yatani said, “PSC needs to improve on service delivery to the public, reduce wastage and deliver services in an atmosphere that encourages people to come for services. You must execute disciplinary powers where needed”.
He told the Commission to relook at negative issues that will deter it from achieving its mandate.
The CS was speaking Tuesday during the launch of the Commission’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024 and new logo that defines the Commission’s corporate identity at a ceremony held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi.
Amb. Yatani who commended the Commission for coming up with the professional document said the strategic plan will positively shape and contribute to successful implementation of agreed targets as it is aligned to the country’s development aspirations and global targets.
“Strategic planning is important for government and organizations as it is the foundation for measuring performance, resource mobilization and driving development,” he said, while urging government ministries, departments, agencies and state corporations to align their strategic plans to the Kenya Vision 2030, the Big 4 Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
He expressed confidence that PSC will fully implement the strategic plan which is citizen centered to disapprove those accusing public servants of being good planners but poor implementers.
Amb. Yatani said PSC plays a significant role in driving the national development agenda by hiring and sustaining suitable human resources that effectively and efficiently implement the national programmes and projects.
The CS said the mandate therefore calls for PSC to ensure that there is requisite skills mapping, recruitment and retention of skilled and ethical human resources through research based interventions in the service is high.
At the same time, he urged government ministries, departments, agencies and state corporations to be innovative to enable them meet their deficits.
“I urge PSC and other government ministries to explore ways of working with other partners through public-private partnerships where feasible, to expand your capacity to implement more and improve on your achievement,” he said.
However, he noted that the government will endeavor to meet its financial obligations towards competing demand.
The CS told PSC to come up with practical solutions to the current challenges of bloated public service in the counties, ballooning wage bill and the high levels of youth unemployment.
“Currently, most County governments are spending over 60 percent of their budgets on salaries leaving very little or no funds for development. This trend has to be reversed as it leaves little value to the taxpayer,” said the CS.
In his remarks, the Public Service Commission Chairman Mr. Stephen Kirogo said the Strategic Plan 2019-2024 will enable the Commission achieve its vision of a citizen centric public service through the Commission’s mission of transforming the public service for efficient and effective service delivery.
Kirogo said the Strategic plan will also guide PSC on promoting values and ethical conduct, entrench high performance culture and value for money, prepare the youth for public service through an internship and volunteer programme, as well as stimulating an interactive citizen feedback relationship.
“We have established a Citizen Contact Centre at PSC through which citizens can raise issues of concern to them regarding service delivery across the public service,” said Kirogo, adding that issues raised by citizens will be responded to within the shortest time.
He said the Strategic Plan will help address the country’s present and future challenges by ensuring that citizens access timely, affordable and quality service,” he said.
The Chairman said by focusing on the centrality of the citizen in service delivery, the commission aims at facilitating empowerment of the citizens and contributing to Kenya’s transformation to a middle-income economy by the year 2030.
He said the Commission will also scale up productivity of the public service and eliminate wastage by targeting improved performance with limited resources.
However, the chairman noted that the successful implementation of the strategic plan will depend on the good will of its partners, stakeholders and teamwork of PSC staff.
By Bernadette Khaduli
