Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria on Friday, October 20 announced his Ministry’s plans to impose mandatory training for all Kenyans seeking to work in the Public Service.
In a statement outlining eight “cardinal pledges” to Kenyans, Kuria noted that all Kenyans eying positions in government or disciplined forces will have to go through a leadership college at the National Youth Service (NYS).
According to him, the Ministry of Public Service has a strategy that seeks to transform the NYS into what he called a bastion of hope for the youth.
“We will transform the NYS into a bastion of hope for young people by making it a mandatory leadership college for those who will be absorbed into the public service,” Kuria noted.
The NYS, he added, will also help to offer professional expertise in various fields to the government and private companies as the contractor of choice.
Jobo bila connection
In a bid to ensure fair distribution of opportunities in the public service, the Ministry will introduce a digital platform described as transparent and verifiable.
The tool guided by the mantra of “jobo bila connection”, according to Kuria, will help to weed out political interference and other practices that compromise recruitment processes.
What’s more, Kuria revealed plans to convince employers in the private sector and abroad to use the digital tool in recruitment of workers and interns.
“We will give every Kenyan an opportunity to work in the government irrespective of Social, economic, or political status,” he noted.
Additionally, the Public Service Ministry will incorporate more youth as part of its resolve to modernize the public service.
The plan will see the Ministry replace retiring workers with the youth to reinvigorate Kenya’s public service.
According to the statement, the Ministry will also ensure an 80:20 ratio between technical staff and support staff to improve efficiency.
According to him, all Kenyans seeking to work in the public service will have to undergo mandatory training in the
Moses Kuria vows to hold workers accountable
Further, the CS announced that his Ministry would work to ensure accountability on the part of government workers.
As part of the strategy to hold public servants accountable, the Ministry will introduce Wajibika Town Hall Forums where workers in various ministries will engage the public in all counties.
Additionally, the Ministry will set up a digital ombudsman tool which will allow members of the public to report lazy or incompetent government officials.
The tool to be named pasha will enable the public to report cases of denial of service by government officials and avail the cases for public scrutiny.
But that is not all. As per the statement, the Ministry will also roll out a digital tool for tracking performance contracts, project delivery and individual performance.
In the statement, Kuria noted that the tracking tool will release monthly results to the public for scrutiny.
His announcement came weeks after assuming leadership of the docket mandate to ensure efficiency in the public service.
Following his reassignment in the cabinet reshuffle announced in early October, Kuria vowed to implement reforms in the public service and crackdown on laziness in project delivery.