IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Previous attempt in the late 1990s to turnaround the public service, sharpen its image and efficacy by engaging top leadership from the private sector, fell far short of expectations.

The Moi government had the best of intentions when it decided upon prodding by the World Bank and IMF, to hire technocrats from the corporate world constituting the much heralded “Dream team”.

Unfortunately even as this was done, scant attention was paid to the structural outlay and the philosophic grounding which over the years fashioned the civil service work ethic. It was one thing grafting top technocrats from the corporate environment to become PSs and quite another to get them to inject pace, zeal and conviction in service delivery. To be able to do that demanded virtual re-engineering.

It is in the recognition of this reality that the government has since 2003 put training in the civil service at the centre of its reforms programme agenda.

The Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA) has been given back the original mandate it enjoyed in 60s and 70s when it provided training and capacity enhancement to various categories of civil servants. The government then almost made it compulsory for all senior civil servants to be initiated in the service through KIA.

Launch

KIA jointly with the Directorate of Personnel Management and the Centre for Strategic Leadership Centre have unveiled a unique programme for senior civil servants (Training Curriculum for Strategic Leadership Programme) which will be launched today.

The special leadership and management programme is expected to enhance the competence of the managers of public affairs with ability to improve public service in a rapidly changing global environment.

The training programme also prepares the beneficiaries for an enhanced career progression in the service. Indeed one of the most serious setbacks in the civil service has been the lack of clear cut career progression, a weakness that has led to a demoralised and lethargic public servants.

In retrospect, the rapid expansion of the public service and the corresponding deficiency in investment in training for various cadres of public servants has over the years resulted in the bulk of civil servants stagnating at certain job groups, impacting adversely on morale and productivity.

This is why we laud the ongoing efforts by Directorate of Personnel Management, the KIA and the Centre for Strategic Management for the new focus on the urgent need to sharpen the skills of civil servants, particularly those in the management cadre.

Job group

The recent announcement by the Public Service Minister, Moses Akaranga, that civil servants will no longer stagnate in one job group for years on end is in consonant with the new reform spirit towards a more efficient and motivated public service. Accordingly, civil servants will move to the next job group after every four years. But training will enhance their forward career progress.

Moreover with the effort to change outdated rules, and by investing more in e-governance, the image of the public service as a home for corrupt workers should be eroded. And Kenyans could ultimately see a reverse flow of top notch workers from the private sector trooping to the public service.

The head of the civil service, Ambassador Francis Muthuara and Ms Joyce Nyamweya deserve support from the current programmes and efforts aimed at sprucing up the image of the public service.

The launch of Training Curriculum for Strategic Leadership Programme that runs up to mid next year at the Kenya Institute of Administration is a landmark event in the public service reform programme.

Quelle/Source: Kenya Times, 16.11.2006