NAIROBI, Kenya July 25 – Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga has proposed a raft of measures aimed at promoting a functional civil service in the country amid concerns of a frustrated workforce.
In a heavily worded statement on Sunday, the former Prime Minister noted that there needs to be a tremendous improvement in the service which he envisioned should be “defined by discipline, hard work, high morale, efficiency and high ethical standards”.
Odinga lamented that the vices of nepotism, tribalism and favoritism have become a major impediment towards the realization of an operational civil service that has a demotivated workforce.
“These three ills have demoralized so many officers who then become more hostages to a system they believe does not appreciate them,” he said.
He decried that the prolonged predicament which has dogged the civil service over the years has resulted into the nation and citizens being the losers.
“Frustrated officers just stay on only to secure pension and turn to other ways to supplement income and get fulfillment. They become brokers where they are supposed to be moderators,” he said.
The African Union envoy noted that more needs to be done to counter those three vices so as to boost the morale of civil servants who he said often a majority never get to be appreciated as their hard work goes unnoticed.
“We must give our civil servants the assurance that if they work hard, maintain a clean record, exercise discipline nothing will stand between them and rising to the top,” he said.
He rooted for the formation of a clear career progression path for civil servants which he stressed should be based on seniority and merit-based promotions.
Odinga further proposed the need to eliminate conflict of interest in the civil service noting that it will go a long way in helping in the ongoing efforts in the fight against corruption.
“This is the main cause of corruption, public mistrust and poor delayed services that have become to be associated with public sector. When the government procurement officers are also suppliers, the consequences are obvious,” he said.
Other measures proposed by Odinga include: the need to promote creativity within the service, proper linkage and interaction between the public and private sector, making use of first-rate think tanks who have no job other than to think for the country.
He noted that those who perform will rest assured reap the benefits while those who fail will also be subjected to the consequences of no promotions, pay stagnation or sacking.
“With these measures in place, we can then institute a system for ensuring competitive pay and a welfare system covering basic salary, allowances welfare expenses,” he said.
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