President William Ruto has directed the Salaries and Renumeration Commission (SRC) to review the renumeration for police officers and other disciplined officers.
Speaking after receiving the report by the National Taskforce on Police Reforms, Ruto also directed the relevant agencies to implement the recommendations on improving the living conditions for the officers.
Besides officers under the National Police Serice, Kenya Prisons and the National Youth Serice (NYS) officers are also poised to benefit- according to President Ruto.
Ruto also assured that the government was in the process of revamping the security sector through provision of better equipment.
In addition, the President addressed the issue of progression of officers in the career. The reforms were part of the recommendations presented by the former Chief Justice David Maraga-led taskforce.
As part of the reforms, Ruto also announced that the entry requirements for Kenyans seeking to join the disciplined services will be raised to ensure higher standards in service delivery.
However, the President emphasized that the requirements would be reasonable.
Also addressed in the report was the issue of promotion and recruitment- with President Ruto promising transparency and merit in future exercises.
Also Read: Gachagua’s Wife Saves 32 Marriages in Police Mass Wedding
“Recruitment and promotion of members of police service will be made transparent, competitive and merit based,” he stated.
“Entry qualifications of all services will be raised to align with the expected competencies of officers but without losing sight of the imperative to implement affirmative action.”
In addition, Ruto announced that no officer would be allowed to serve for more than three years in the same county.
Ruto commits to address challenges
The President also highlighted other challenges in the report that the Task Force noted were among the impediments to effective performance.
Among the challenges, Ruto noted, is corruption which according to the report is institutionalized and endemic.
Also Read: Haiti Mission: MPs Approve Deployment of Kenyan Police
The Head of State also mentioned underfunding, deficient leadership, structural and organizational weaknesses and corruption as some of the challenges calling for solutions.
In his speech, Ruto expressed his satisfaction with the work delivered by Maraga’s team.
Further, he underscored that reforms in the sector were central to the effective service delivery and ensuring security for all citizens.
“Police reforms are intended to ensure security personnel are accorded the respect, support, facilitation and recognition they deserve,” Ruto stated.
The Maraga Task Force was first instituted in Decmber 2022 to help the Kenya Kwanza government in driving reforms in the sector.
Later in March 2023, Ruto extended its mandate to allow Maraga and his team to incorporate recommendations on how to revamp the NYS.
