The Public service sector needs to strengthen the culture of competency to improve performance and service delivery, Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua has said.
Kinyua said competency could be boosted through measures that reward high achievers.
He spoke Friday when he presided over the release of Job Evaluation Results for Public Service at the KICC, Nairobi.
Kinyua said a culture of competency would make Kenya an economic giant.
“Results-based management, therefore, would be used as a management tool that enables us to realize the development goals set out in Vision 2030,” he said.
The Head of Public Service said fairness and transparency have already become important features in public affairs and governance.
“Indeed the past years, prior to the promulgation of the Constitution it was unusual to reveal the salary of the President. But today the salary of state officers is in public domain, it is a measure of how far we have progressed in our public affairs,” said Kinyua.
He said over the years, the Government has emerged as the employer of choice for Kenyans but asked the relevant agencies to check if they are attracting people with the right skills to deliver quality services.
“This is what the taxpayers will expect the agencies like SRC, Public Service Commission, and other such agencies to bear in mind to ensure we also develop the capacity of the public officers to be effective in the delivery of their duties,” he said.
Kinyua urged all government agencies to invest in strategies that boost productivity and performance.
He said Kenya needs to emulate countries like Malaysia that have developed programmes to equip workers with skills that enhance productivity to reduce wastage.
“We are living in a competitive global economy where the country is facing intense competition from the neighbouring countries for foreign direct investment,” he pointed out.
Kinyua also called on Salaries and Remuneration Commission to ensure that the expenditure on public wage bill is affordable and fiscally sustainable.
He said the rate at which the public sector wage bill has increased over the few years has seriously constrained the capacity of the Government to allocate enough resources for operation and maintenance, and development programmes.
The Principal Secretary, Public Service and Youth Lillian Mbogo Omollo, who spoke on behalf of CS Sicily Kariuki, said the job evaluation exercise is timely saying the objective is to bring comparative worthy of jobs.
Other speakers included Public Service Commission chairperson Prof Margaret Kobia and SRC chairperson Sarah Serem.
---PSCU