• The former prime minister said ending nepotism, tribalism and favouritism will ensure a functional civil service.
• “These three ills have demoralized so many officers who then become mere hostages to a system they believe does not appreciate them,” Raila said.
Image: RAILA ODINGA/TWITTER
ODM leader Raila Odinga on Sunday unveiled his blueprint for the transformation of the civil service.
The former prime minister said ending nepotism, tribalism and favouritism will ensure a functional civil service.
“These three ills have demoralized so many officers who then become mere hostages to a system they believe does not appreciate them,” Raila said.
The proposal was contained in a snippet of what is believed to be his 2022 manifesto as he moves to counter Deputy President William Ruto’s hustler narrative.
Raila said he will ensure the public service is anchored on discipline, hard work, high morale, efficiency and high ethical standards.
Currently, Raila said, many civil services are frustrated and only stay on to secure pension and turn to other ways to supplement income and get fulfilment.
“We must give our civil servants the assurance that if they work hard, maintain a clean record, exercise discipline, then nothing will stand between them and rising to the top,” he said.
The ODM boss reiterated that there was a need to design and adhere to a clear career progression path for civil servants.
He said he will transform civil service into one that thrives on seniority and merit-based promotions as opposed to political whims.
The AU special envoy believes that eliminating conflict of interest (which he termed as the main cause of corruption), public mistrust and poor and delayed services will be key in modernising civil service.
“We need to promote creativity in the civil service. World over, civil servants tend to play safe, merely taking and implementing instructions. Kenya is not any different.”
“We have to change this and institutionalize ways to enable civil servants who have different ideas on how to do better, bring their ideas to the table,” he added.
The former prime minister said civil servants should be allowed to spend time in the private sector and return to public service.
Such a system, he said, creates an understanding in the public service of how the private sector does its work and how the two sectors can complement each other.
“We need to push our civil service in the direction of the private sector where strategic thinking rather than business as usual and maintaining status quo is a must or you sink,” he said.
He emphasized the need to create linkages between the government and private sector, particularly the think tanks to enable civil servants to pursue routine work and engage in strategic thinking at the same time.
“We need to put maximum emphasis on creating and making use of first-rate think tanks who have no job other than to think for the country,” he said.
He said the country should tap into institutions with the best brains and experienced hands and use them to feed civil service with timely research, analysis and policy suggestions.
Last week, Raila unveiled his industrialisation agenda. This came days after he articulated how he would create rich villages and make them rich.
Earlier, Raila had outlined 17-point agenda titled, ‘What Raila Believes In’ promising to fight corruption, create jobs and support industries and small business.
On Sunday, he said the country must borrow from the developed world where public policy think tanks are constant players in government.
“We will need to maintain an up-to-date database on solid professionals and experts on issues like manufacturing, technology, economy, education, youth and international affairs and constantly tap into them.
Refresher courses for civil servants will also be a must under his regime.
“With these measures in place, we can then institute a system for ensuring competitive pay and a welfare system covering basic salary, allowances and welfare expenses,” Raila said.
He said, “The expected result is an honest, patriotic, professional and efficient government that can deliver services to citizens, steady the country and stick to our national objective regardless of the politics of the day.”