Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Performance, and Delivery Management Moses Kuria has issued a warning to government service delivery officials who failed to attend Monday’s handover ceremony.
Kuria, who took over for Aisha Jumwa, who now heads the newly formed Ministry of Gender, Culture, Arts, and Heritage, stated that he will not spare anyone who shows signs of laxity as he plans to streamline service delivery to Kenyans.
“I know I haven’t seen people here for the government service delivery unit. Let me tell those officers, don’t try me,” he said during the meeting held at Harambee House.
“I’ll also remind you that I’m in charge of your payroll, so kaa karibu na mimi.”
CS Kuria also told public servants that he will deconstruct industry norms, stating that Kenyans should be the ministry’s top priority.
“I have two sets of customers: the 9,000 public servants who work for the gov’t. The second set of customers is the 55 million Kenyans.”
“52% of our revenue is consumed by the wage bill and in my opinion we need to choose whether we’re in public service or employment. Kenyans don’t owe you a job, you owe them service.”
To set the ball rolling Kuria said that he intends to travel around the country to meet all public servants in an effort to foster his objectives.
He also asserted his commitment to serve diligently in the office and improve the ministry’s performance.
“The president assigned me on matters of service delivery and performance. I’m an expert on business processes engineering and those are skills I want to bring here with me,” he said.
On her part, Jumwa said that she leaves behind a firm institution for Kuria to operate in, thanking her staff for their cooperation during her tenure.
The changes were made last week by President William Ruto as he reshuffled his cabinet in a bid to improve service delivery to Kenyans.
