Uhuru to steer team tasked with enhancing public service delivery

President Kenyatta will personally chair a team put in place to streamline the delivery of public services in a bid to improve Kenya’s attractiveness to investors.

The team that will steer the Huduma Kenya service delivery programme also comprises of the Attorney-General, six cabinet secretaries and will be responsible for developing the vision and overall policy for the transformation of public service delivery.

A notice published in the Kenya Gazette on Friday said the governance structure consist of the service delivery summit to be chaired by the president, a technical committee comprising of various principal secretaries and a secretariat.

The service delivery summit will include Attorney-General Githu Muigai, cabinet secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government, Mr Joseph Ole Lenku, Mr Fred Matiang’i for Information and Communication, Mr Henry Rotich for National Treasury, Ms Charity Ngilu for Lands, Mr Adan Mohammed for Industrialisation, Professor Jacob Kaimenyi for Education, Mr Kazungu Kambi for Labour and Mr James Macharia for Health.

The technical committee, comprising of principal secretaries to these ministries and the solicitor-general, will be charged with coordination of the implementation of policies and decisions made by the summit.
It will report to the summit on the progress of the programme quarterly.

Implementation

“The technical committee shall be responsible for the coordination and implementation of the Huduma Kenya delivery programme including the sourcing and development of relevant management information systems and ICT infrastructure,” the notice read.

Huduma Kenya programme was launched in August last year to give citizens access to government services under one roof.

In November, the President launched the first Huduma centre at Telesposta towers (GPO) promising that others would be opened within and outside Nairobi.

Through the centres, Kenyans can access such services as business name registration, ID application, student loan application, registration with the National Social Security Fund and National Hospital Insurance Fund besides reporting cases of corruption.

Part of the brief of the technical committee is re-engineering and automation of service delivery systems.

“The technical committee shall approve the establishment of all Huduma Kenya service delivery channels including online and mobile portals, management information systems and ICT infrastructure,” the President (left) said in the notice.

He also directed that the technical committee promote private sector participation, especially youth enterprises in the provision of public services through digital villages and call centres.

Investment destination

Services will be provided online through the Huduma Web Portal, on mobile phones through the Huduma Mobile Platform, the Huduma Call Centre and personal visits to Huduma centres.

By driving the initiative himself, Mr Kenyatta is sending a strong message for civil servants to step up service delivery. It is envisaged that improved service delivery from the government agencies will increase ease of starting and running a business in the country thereby making Kenya a preferred investment destination.