In a stirring call to action that echoes Kenya’s pioneering spirit in public sector reforms, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi has demanded the swift finalization of legislation on performance contracting.
This move, he argues, is essential to embed the system firmly in law, transforming it into a robust tool for accountability, measurable outcomes, and fair promotions within the nation’s public service.
Speaking at the signing ceremony for the 2nd level Performance Contract for the 2024/2025 Financial Year, Mudavadi emphasized that such contracts must transcend mere formality, evolving into a dynamic framework that drives real results and fosters transparency.
From Ceremony to Accountability: Setting Targets That Matter
Mudavadi’s address highlighted the need to elevate performance contracting beyond symbolic gestures. He urged all stakeholders to collaborate as a unified team in defining ambitious yet achievable targets, followed by rigorous monitoring to track progress.
“We must all work as a team so that we can set our targets. Today we shall just append our signatures, and then after that we must have a tracking mechanism to see whether we are on target or whether we are missing our target,” he stated, underscoring the importance of continuous evaluation.
This approach, he explained, ensures that public institutions remain aligned with their core mandates, delivering tangible benefits to Kenyan citizens.
Without such mechanisms, performance contracting risks becoming an empty ritual, devoid of the impact needed to enhance service delivery and efficiency.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary delved into the historical context, expressing deep frustration over the protracted delays in legislating this critical reform.
Kenya, under the leadership of former President Mwai Kibaki, had once perfected performance contracting to such an extent that it garnered international acclaim.
“President Kibaki perfected performance contracting and Kenya won an international UN accolade as the country with the best public management system best practice,” Mudavadi recalled.
This recognition positioned Kenya as a global benchmark, with nations like the United States studying and adapting the model. Remarkably, the U.S. not only emulated Kenya’s system but advanced it by enshrining it in federal law through Congress.
“The United States came, benchmarked on Kenya, looked at how we were doing performance contracting, and they went and had it legislated through Congress. They now have a law on performance contracting,” he noted, highlighting a stark irony: the pioneer nation lagging behind its followers.
Decades of Delay: A Timeline of Missed Opportunities
Tracing the timeline of stagnation, Mudavadi pointed out that more than two decades have passed since Kenya’s initial triumphs, yet the country remains mired in endless consultations.
“The people who were first at the table are still going through a rigmarole of consultations more than 20 years later. That is unbelievable,” he lamented.
He chronicled the succession of administrations—Kibaki’s full 10-year term, followed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta‘s decade in office, and now President William Ruto approaching the end of his first five years—during which the legislation has languished.
“Now we have President Ruto finishing his first five-year term and we are still going through dialogue on the legislation,” Mudavadi said, warning that this inertia threatens to erode Kenya’s hard-earned credibility on the world stage.
The consequences of this delay, according to Mudavadi, extend far beyond bureaucratic hurdles. Without legal anchoring, performance contracting fails to serve as a fair and objective criterion for evaluating civil servants, leading to arbitrary promotions and widespread discontent.
“We need to have performance contracting fully anchored in law so that it forms a criterion of evaluating civil servants so that it becomes a measurable way of determining who deserves promotion and who does not,” he asserted.
He vividly illustrated the human cost, citing grievances from long-serving officers who feel sidelined despite their dedication.
“We hear cases of someone saying, ‘I have worked, I have flogged, I have been a drawer of water and a hewer of wood over the years, but I have not been promoted,’ and then somebody else comes and gets promoted,” Mudavadi shared, emphasizing how a transparent, trackable system could eradicate such perceptions of favoritism and restore equity.
Reclaiming Leadership: A Call to Fast-Track Reforms
Mudavadi’s message was clear: Kenya must not squander the legacy of reforms that once placed it at the forefront of global public service innovation.
“The top-notch country gets global recognition, others pick up the practice, go beyond it and legislate it, and then you, the pioneers, are chasing after your own victory. It does not augur well,” he cautioned.
By embedding performance contracting in law, the government can eliminate subjective decision-making, bolster accountability, and address systemic weaknesses that have plagued the public sector.
This would not only enhance internal fairness but also signal to the international community that Kenya is committed to upholding its status as a leader in governance best practices.
Urging those involved in drafting the bill to expedite its completion, Mudavadi stressed the importance of wrapping up the ongoing public participation phase without further procrastination. “I strongly believe that this piece of legislation can be done after the final stage of public participation. Let us not hold back anymore,” he implored.
He called for a renewed dedication to preserving Kibaki’s visionary initiatives, declaring, “Let us not let down what Kibaki started by putting Kenya on the global map as a country with a very solid public service.”
Concluding the legislation, he argued, would fortify the framework for future evaluations, ensuring that public institutions operate with the efficiency and integrity that Kenyans deserve.
Currently, the performance contracting bill is in the public participation stage, gathering insights from stakeholders and citizens to refine its provisions.
Upon completion of this consultative process, the legislation is poised to advance through parliamentary channels, ultimately establishing performance contracting as a legally mandated standard for assessing and improving public service delivery in Kenya.
This development could mark a pivotal turning point, revitalizing a system that once set the benchmark for the world and positioning Kenya to reclaim its innovative edge in governance.
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