The unit is an instrument that helps the Government to fulfil its pledges to Kenyans/PSCU
The unit is an instrument that helps the Government to fulfil its pledges to Kenyans.
The President, who was accompanied by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, expressed satisfaction that the unit was on track, saying it should lay a strong foundation by setting monitoring tools that will be used by current and future administrations in programme implementation.
The Delivery Unit is working with the Tony Blair Foundation. When Blair was Prime Minister, he used the concept to mobilise government department and agencies effectively.
“The key is not just to have abstract programmes, it is to identify an issue and make it a reality,” he said.
The unit – which is based at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre – is charged with ensuring that all ministries and departments achieve the pledges the Jubilee government promised the people of Kenya. It also follows up on execution and deadlines.
The President said the unit should follow up targets set, who is supposed to achieve them and by when.
“Use the tools you have developed to monitor ministries that are lagging behind and what interventions are needed,” President Kenyatta said.
The Head of State said although the Government uses different ministries to fulfil its objectives, the unit needs to ensure that all players are involved in the implementation of projects.
He called on the unit to pursue all programmes and projects to their conclusion.
The President said communication was crucial in making the citizens know what the Government is doing.
“Communicating what is being done is as good as capturing what is being delivered,’’ President Kenyatta said.
Blair said the delivery unit will not be effective if it does not set priorities that are measurable and specific.
“The unit should set deliverables for projects, identify milestones along the way and provide information on what is happening,” he said.
He said the unit requires all the expertise to capture – in details – the performance of the ministries, identify bottlenecks and the interventions required.
Blair pointed out that delivery units are useful because even when leaders are distracted by national and international issues, the delivery unit is never distracted and continues to do its job in performance management.
The unit has identified key projects for monitoring: Konza Techno-city, Lamu Port South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport corridor, (the pipeline component), road accidents and media monitoring, especially the coverage of Cabinet Secretaries.
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