A boy was stung by a Nettle. He ran home and told his mother, saying, “Although it hurts me very much, I only touched it gently.”
“That was just why it stung you,” said his mother. “The next time you touch a Nettle, grasp it boldly, and it will be soft as silk to your hand, and not in the least hurt you.”
The short story above teaches us that whatever we do, we have to do it with all our might.
Last week, President Ruto brought together all offices in the Executive for a Cabinet retreat that started on Thursday and concluded on Sunday.
This was a significant meeting, especially since it’s the first time the entire Executive has been brought together with the swearing-in of Principal Secretaries late last year.
The President told each government department to come up with clear objectives, deliverables and timelines on how they will implement the Kenya Kwanza manifesto in their dockets.
The President also called on the CSs and PSs to be progressive and revolutionary in their approach to serving the country.
He insisted that they must not become hostages of processes and bureaucracy and should be defined by decisions and results. Bureaucracy has been a great undoing for Kenya as it slows down government actions when it is needed the most.
Another critical thing that the President told his Executive was that they should move beyond their villages and ensure that their presence is felt and seen across the country.
The President restated that there would be no room for wastage of government resources, asking his troops to ensure public resources work for taxpayers.
Among the issues that the President said must happen immediately is the digitisation of government operations within the next six months.
This will ensure that there is better delivery of services to all Kenyans in the shortest time possible which will help the government deliver adequately.
In this day and age, Kenyans should be able to get government services from the comfort of their homes, and through their phones.
Another issue agreed upon is that all members of the Executive must formulate and package government programmes into opportunities to obtain revenues to support investments.
In addition, every ministry has been tasked to give timelines on the Kenya Kwanza manifesto priorities.
The President said they must state when they are going to finish a programme and have the same reviewed every three months, six months and in a two-year term.
It was also agreed that in the agricultural sector, the government was going to recruit all farmers so that the relevant departments can service them to realise more productivity.
Another area of priority is to support farmers with whatever subsidy programmes that the government has so as to increase productivity and ensure that they are uplifted economically.
The Sh8 billion to subsidise six million bags of fertiliser will ensure that farmers get the product at a low cost and thus help in bringing down food prices through mass production.
It was also important that the President and the Executive also met Parliament and governors to ensure that there are harmonised operations between the institutions.
Collaboration between the national and county governments will help ensure that devolution works in the manner it should.
Harmonised operations between Parliament and the Executive will also ensure that there is better execution of government programmes.
The commitment by the President and the Executive to allow oversight by Parliament will also increase and enhance accountability for the public good.
Kenyans have a lot of hope anchored on the Kenya Kwanza manifesto and so the government must work hard to ensure that it delivers. All Kenyans hold the same aspirations of living in a country where they can achieve all their plans and it is the government’s job to facilitate this.
After all the talk and plans, it is now time to move with speed and work on delivery. Many of the CSs have been politicians and should ensure that they avoid letting politics get in the way of delivery.
