Civil servants in Kajiado North sub-county have been urged to embrace government services and programmes so they can provide the public with accurate, first-hand information and counter misinformation on the same.
Kajiado North Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Yusuf Mohamed said officers had a responsibility to explain government programmes objectively, particularly flagship initiatives under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Speaking during an interdepartmental meeting in Kajiado North Ngong offices, Mohamed urged departmental officers to personally embrace programmes such as the Boma Yangu affordable housing scheme and the Social Health Authority (SHA), saying their experiences would enable them to give the public informed advice.
“I have personally registered, and I am paying for a unit in the Boma Yangu project. As civil servants, we know that compared to other mortgage programmes, this is a good opportunity we should all embrace,” the DCC said.
The Kajiado North Sub-County Ward administrator, Samuel Muchiri, encouraged cooperation among officers in both levels of government, saying his office was open to provide support and a link between offices for the smooth running of government programmes and agendas.
The Ongata Rongai Assistant County Commissioner (ACC), Abdi Shakur, shared his experience with SHA, saying the scheme had recently settled his mother’s hospital bill when she fell ill.
Shakur urged the officers to understand the services they provide by also using them, saying this would enable them to serve the public more effectively.
However, he cautioned civil servants against being drawn into political activities, saying their primary responsibility was to serve Kenyans regardless of political affiliations.
“We have a party, and we are government officers. Our party is ‘AGIP’, which stands for ‘Any Government in Power”, Shakur said.
Similarly, the DCC urged officers to remain politically neutral as the country enters an increasingly active campaign period, saying their duty was to serve the government in power.
“We serve the current administration, not the outgoing or the incoming, but the current administration,” Mohamed said.
The meeting brought together heads of government departments in Kajiado North to review implementation of BETA flagship projects and assess their performance during the last quarter.
The officers also presented reports on their respective departments and outlined measures being taken to support the government’s development agenda.
Kajiado North Teachers Service Commission (TSC) officer Jane Rono said the government had hired about 120,000 teachers while urging civil servants to take advantage of the affordable housing programme.
Rono said many civil servants were already spending an average of Sh20,000 on rent and could instead channel the money towards a housing scheme that would eventually give them ownership of a home.
The officers were further encouraged to deliberately communicate their achievements and services to the public through official communication channels and collaboration with the Kenya News Agency.
Terry Kahoro, Ngong Law Courts Administrator in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, said government departments needed to make their work more visible to the public
“You are doing good work, but if you don’t inform and be visible, it is like winking in the dark,” Kahoro said.
By Byron Ouma
