Human Resource (HR) practitioners in the public service have been asked to join the Africa Public Sector Human Resource Practitioners Network following the ratification of the Kenyan chapter.
The ratification was conducted by the Africa Public Sector Human Resource Managers Network, an association of all human resource practitioners in the public service in Africa.
Speaking to the media, the Deputy President of the network, James Wasagami, said that their aim is to bring together human resource practitioners to benchmark and learn from one another in regard to the profession.
Wasagami noted that the network is for any HR professional dispensing human resource services, even in the remote area, to qualify to be a member.
He said the Kenya chapter fulfilled all the conditions after the Principal Secretary for Public Service wrote to the president of the network; the executive members sat and considered the application and found it befitting to be ratified.
“The Kenya chapter can now operate fully as a duly recognized member of the Africa Public Sector Human Resource Practitioners network,” he said.
“By ratification we mean that all human resource practitioners in the public service of Kenya who have fulfilled the conditions of being members of the local network can confidently claim that they are part of the African network,” he added.
Wasagami noted that there are so many associations but Kenya needed a local network of its own to help build the capacity of the professionals, among other benefits associated with the network.
He added that the network is purely an association of all people practicing human resource services in the public service of Kenya and other countries in Africa.
He further thanked the government for supporting the network, noting that they have close working relations with the Ministry of Public Service.
“This gives a sense of belonging to those in public service; they can get an opportunity to benchmark because in all the African countries the network has chapters there,” he said.
He underscored the need for the professionals to enroll in such networks, saying that Human Resource Management (HRM) is evolving with the digital world, thus HR people have huge expectations from employers, calling for the need to know how others are operating.
He noted that in public service some policies are similar, which helps HR to share a platform that provides capacity building to all HRs, including those in remote parts of Kenya.
Chairperson of the Africa Public Service Sector Human Resource Practitioners Network-Kenyan chapter (APSHRPNET), Florence Wanguku, said that the Kenyan chapter has now been ratified and has joined the rest of Africa in implementing the objectives of APSHRPNET.
“We are going to be very key and instrumental in serving our different public sector institutions in supporting the public service deliverables in our country and Africa in general,” she said.
She noted that the network is instrumental because, through it, some HR professionals have been given the opportunity to contribute their views by discussing the current human resource bill 2024.
“We have invited members to come and access the bill virtually and we have done a memorandum that is going back to the drafters of the bill.
We want to support the flexi-work environment, as most of our employees are in different scenarios and stages of life. We are keen to see a flexible working environment and post-Covid 19 also taught us to be flexible and accept change,” she added.
By Chari Suche
