PUBLIC SERVICE WEEK

The Public service week ended Thursday with a call to civil servants to actualize and sustain the high sense of service delivery they exhibited during the nationwide exercise in their places of work.

Officially closing the exhibition at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka told civil servants that the public pays them through taxation, and therefore it has a right to demand quality services from them.

Musyoka noted that the week was successful citing the close interaction it provide to the public and the government officials and urged the civil servants to take into account all the issues raised by the public in a bid to improve service delivery.

"This indeed is the way to go in the renewed spirit of a reforming and customer-focused public service; one that listens and responds to the concerns of the public" Mr. Musyoka noted.

Saying the attainment of the Vision 2030 Strategy depends on a civil service that has embraced modern technology and service delivery systems, the Vice President assured that the government would prioritize the pursuit of both technological and infrastructural modernization program.

"In addition the government will enhance socio-cultural change, strengthen human resource capacity and manage resources prudently" he added.

The Vice President noted that the public service had managed to transform itself from an institution that was known for lack of transparency and accountability through the adoption of the best practices from around the world and innovativeness.

"I am happy to note that that we are not only learning from others, but our innovative ways such as Constituency Development Fund which has facilitated faster development at the grassroots has become a lesson for others too" he observed.

The Vice President said there is need to reform procurement law to ensure transparency and accountability is strictly adhered to and attain the required time targets

He pointed out that the government has adopted and institutionalize monitoring and evaluation as a useful tool to enhance service delivery.

The VP at the same time added that a project monitoring information system is in the process of being established to provide a comprehensive database for all government projects as well as information on projects financed from external sources.

The Public Service Minister, Dalmas Otieno, said the Government intends to introduce public servants training revolving fund to be managed by the existing Higher Education Loans Board to help them improve their skills and enhance performance.

The Minister at the same time added that the government will closely monitor individual performance of civil servants from time to time through revised appraisal documents.

Winners of the event whose theme was 'modernizing the public service towards realization of Kenya Vision 2030' were awarded trophies and certificates in various categories.