GOVERNMENT TO SACK CORRUPT, INEFFICIENT OFFICERS, SAYS RAILA

DAILY NATION
NAIROBI, KENYA
By PETER LEFTIE
October 6 2009

Public will be involved in gauging the performance of ministries, says PM.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga has warned public servants who practice corruption or tribalism that they face the sack.

In a series of measures aimed at ensuring the government improves service delivery to the public, Mr Odinga announced that henceforth, the performance of civil servants will be evaluated by external experts and not public institutions to ensure no favouritism takes place.

All public tenders will also be made public on a monthly basis, complete with details of tender sums, winners of tenders and details of delayed projects, including the names of contractors and cost over-runs, the PM directed.

Mr Odinga outlined the tough measures when he presided over the signing of performance contracts by various ministries and government agencies at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) Tuesday.

“To persistent non-performers, it is not necessary for me to seek the views of taxpayers on whether they will continue to maintain liabilities in the name of poor performers, or even mediocre standards in public offices,” he said.

“Holders of public office who do not deliver results as committed in the freely signed performance contracts will be required to seek refuge elsewhere,” Mr Odinga warned.

The PM declared that the public will be involved in gauging the performance of ministries and those that do not meet the standards will not be given priority in the budget.

“In the event there will be serious inconsistencies between what a ministry commits to achieve and the expectations of the public, there may be need to reconvene respective negotiating teams to review the indicators and targets. The ministry of Finance will in turn be required to give financing priority to targets which have been duly supported by the public,” Mr Odinga stated.

He announced that the monitoring of project implementation will also be field based as opposed to the current situation where planning units at various ministries conduct the exercises from their offices instead of going to the field.

“The Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 will be required to track progress in project monitoring countrywide while the performance contracting department will track and report on implementation of service delivery charters,” Mr Odinga outlined.

He added that the Performance Contracting Department at the PM’s office has organised training for all provincial and district heads across all ministries including Constituency Development Funds committees on performance contracting starting this month.

“In addition, ministries will be required to give priority to automation of services to facilitate countrywide service delivery.”
During the occasion, the ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service Commission (PSC) came under severe censure by the PM and the head of civil service Francis Muthaura for failing to submit their respective performance contracts for evaluation for the second year in a row.

“This is a very bad state of affairs,” Mr Muthaura said in his opening remarks, prompting Mr Odinga to pick up the matter in his speech.

“I need to reiterate here that performance contracting is a government policy from which not a single holder of public office is exempt, including the ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service Commission,’ the PM warned.

Neither the Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula nor the Permanent Secretary Mwangi Thuita were present as their counterparts signed their ministries’ contracts for 2009/2010.

Submitted by kmpeter
Posted October 06, 2009 06:08 PM

The civil service has failed in incubating new ideas to grow this country, and generating of new ideas has been left to politicians who have short term goals. Reforms in the civil service, local governments, constituency set ups and all arms of government are what are needed urgently, otherwise performance contracting has been around for five years now and there is nothing to show for it apart from IDPs, hunger, and suffering.

Submitted by kmpeter
Posted October 06, 2009 06:06 PM

It is the same old story. We have also not dealt with those who have perpetrated corruption in the past. Performance contracting will not work when there are disparities in pay among the civil servants.

Submitted by mkenyamacho
Posted October 06, 2009 05:54 PM

Is this not another stunt by Raila to steal the limelight now that he knows the international community is focussed on Annan's visit to review reform progress? Kenyans should sack all corrupt from top to bottom. Who exonorated Kibaki and Raila and other tops ministers from corruptiong before they are proved clean?

Submitted by kiingerald
Posted October 06, 2009 05:29 PM

That is the Spirit Tinga! That is one of the plenty of strategies that will mould the true spirit of service in Kenya. The era of hanging your coat in office was good but it is long expired. Let outputs be the other catch phrase joyriders will have to fear. Now that we are at it, is it also possible to develop capacity building forums Mr Tinga so that the performers can truly unlock the power of their potential?
True leadership spirit.

Submitted by oiseaubleu
Posted October 06, 2009 05:12 PM

Walk the talk Mr PM.Thats the only way the government will be taken seriously.You will be reminded of such utterances in the near future

Submitted by Kenya_Imwe
Posted October 06, 2009 05:09 PM

I'll believe it when I see it. More of the same promises and no action. Without action Vision 2030 will remain a mirage.

Submitted by Kenyarite
Posted October 06, 2009 04:26 PM

Only when the most corrupt will stop being the same people spearheading fight against corruption through double standards, double dealing, cheating, hypocricy, absolute lack of moral values that lead to the villains remaining in place while the innocent are implicated - only when leaders mean whay they say and stop witchunting the innocent will Kenya solve its corruption problems.

Submitted by We_need_a_revolution
Posted October 06, 2009 04:15 PM

Is it me or is this man the biggest talker in Kenyan politics?..For heavens sake..how many known corrupt officials are still in office?... Like I said before stop, whining and start working....

Submitted by yesuwangu
Posted October 06, 2009 04:11 PM

Yes we sometimes need to be serious.Hii maneno ya watu kwenda ofisini na kupiga gumzo,kata makucha na browse internet then go home should be over. Let's move and earn what we worked for

Submitted by bkisia
Posted October 06, 2009 04:03 PM

Not the first time I have heard that. Begin with Muthaura

Submitted by chesireken
Posted October 06, 2009 03:41 PM

Raila, walk the talk. We have heard that empty rhetoric before. Those forms have been signed for several years now. What have they achieved? And the wealth declaration forms? What have they achieved apart from gathering dust at Govt shelves? Raila’s measures are just empty politics as he seeks to entice voters for 2012. At any function, you’ll hear him talking about a new initiative or training by his office, which is a duplication of previous efforts. Why not act or improve on what is already done instead of starting afresh? I’ll not be fooled in 2012 by cheap politics.

Submitted by Makanji
Posted October 06, 2009 03:13 PM

The PM should get serious. He can't sack Wetangula though it would be good to have him in the political dustbins. But at least he can take action against the entire PSC board. Send all of them home. There are many Kenyans who can replace those old men and women in PSC.

Submitted by madhair
Posted October 06, 2009 02:44 PM

We bacame tired of these kind of threats a long time ago. We shall only pay attention to this hot air stuff, when we see results that are concrete. Otherwise keep making noise!