NAIROBI, September 25 – The Public Service Ministry on Thursday gave all ministries and other government departments three weeks to conclude disciplinary cases that have been pending for over six months.
Cabinet Minister Dalmas Otieno told a news conference that there were numerous cases that had taken several months without conclusion.
“All these officers knew they should have completed them within six months. They don’t need more than three weeks to address cases that are still outstanding. I have one or two ministries that have more than 300 to 400 cases pending,” he said.
He added that the number was alarming hence the need for the affected officers to start acting on them by Monday.
The minister blamed failure to act on the cases on massive laxity by the supervisors and other officers in charge, whom he said would be put on the spotlight.
Mr Otieno also noted that it was unfair for workers to continue earning half salaries or remain on suspension for long periods without any progress on their fate.
He also requested employees with such claims to write to their respective Permanent Secretaries who would compile reports with the Public Service Ministry.
On receiving the reports, the minister said he would analyse the extent of each of the cases and determine what action to take but would also seek advice from the Attorney General on the way forward for every case.
He said most of the disciplinary cases included breach of regulations such as unnecessary absenteeism from work, corruption and misuse of public resources.
“There are some that result from bad work habits, you come and you hang your coat and disappear. There may be a share (of blame) that I will allocate to the management; that is the people who are supervising officers who may be contributing to those bad habits.”
He said the move was in line with the government’s decision to evaluate public offices to ensure efficiency in delivery of services as well as fight corruption.
He also noted it would enforce appropriate measures that would be used when dealing with disciplinary cases in the public service.
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