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From an image of more hated than loved, state workers put on the cool face of efficiency and honesty
For a long time, Kenya’s civil service has been inefficient in the delivery of public services. Efforts to clean house haven’t borne much fruit as surveys show there is still rampant corruption among state workers.
To change this perception, thousands of people turned up for Kenya’s two-day public service week held recently at Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi. It is through the public service that the society ought to be empowered. Kenyans do not get good service from many government offices and so this day was set aside to give citizens a platform to air their grievances.
Lately, we have witnessed pay reviews for civil servants. The consideration for wages increment never materialises and when it’s published, it is not at per with the current economic trends. No big change is experienced and the civil servants are left to grapple with high prices of household products.
These are some of the issues Kenyans who attended the meeting raised. Information from the grassroots is collected by the government through divisions, districts and provincial levels, then brought together at the headquarters in Nairobi, where it’s analysed and information of what ails the mwananchi known.
Certainly, to receive these much-needed services, one usually required an influential government officer to assist. Without one, the process is a nightmare. Just look at the people living in the rural areas who have no accessibility to clean water and electricity. Therefore, when the government is putting efforts in unveiling official websites and putting this information to be easily used by the people, it is simply opening and shutting doors to a class of people in the technology age.
In some parts of the country, people do not understand what Information Technology. But when civil service is focused on taking internet to the villagers as part of fulfilling the vision 2030, accessing information will be easy. Public servants in the rural areas will be able to log online and communicate with the HQ. They would also submit their opinion and influence decision making in their favour. People will be able to actively contribute to the government budgets and influence effective and efficient services for them.
Beside services to the community, the government would get the right information on the needs and plans of the people. This helps in planning and allocating enough funds that would cover economic growth whose objective is to uplift their living standards. This financial support comes in the form of CDF (Community Development Fund) which enables the commencement of income generating activities.
With this budget, community lives would be upgraded, by undertaking sound service measures. This means good money management as well as prudent time management. And because many people do more with things they are critical with, this year’s public service opened doors with a government promise to have more offices up and running.
The problem is that Kenya has been slow to change, particularly the most important ones. Say, for instance, as government spokesman Alfred Mutua was heard alluding, state offices were opened even over lunch hour to give services, we’d see more of the workload done away with. No one will be charged to rush for appointments, and late appointments, as it happens now. It would do away with many incidences where citizens line up, only to be cut off and told to revisit the next day, as opening hours are done.
State offices and departments showcased their responsibilities with promises of delivering improved services. Regional development authorities like co-operatives, industrialisation service charters, department of small arms towards peace building and export promoters came out to interact with the common public.
The exchange of knowledge absolutely empowered many. However, coming up with these expectations calls upon the country men and women to give their personal ideas while having unparalleled interactions with the people assigned to deliver government service. We should all get to know new programmes that government ministries are rolling out for the benefit of all of us.
In some stands, members of the public were interviewed and Michael Milanya, a young businessman surely had something to take home. “It’s a brilliant idea as we have learnt a lot of things like our rights and what we should expect from various ministries. We have given them our comments but the big task remains with them as they are not just supposed to just display, but by act – in improving service delivery.
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