Rebooting Public Service: Koskei moves to fix systemic failures

Head of Public Service and State House Chief of Staff Felix Koskei has convened an important meeting for Wednesday, July 30, bringing together top government officials to address systemic inefficiencies hampering service delivery in the public sector.

The meeting aims to drive urgent reforms and reinforce performance standards across institutions in line with President William Ruto’s governance agenda.

The meeting follows an internal assessment that revealed significant accountability gaps and inefficiencies within the public service, including delays in taking corrective action and a lack of consequences for underperformance or misconduct.

“These weaknesses have raised concern not only on the pace at which this Administration intends to deliver on its promises to citizens, but also on the quality, quantity and timeliness of the same,” he said

“They have led to an unnecessary sluggishness of the system with citizens complaining of a non-responsive Public Service that is lacking in the robustness and effectiveness required,” Koskei stated in a circular issued to Principal Secretaries, State Corporations, and senior departmental heads.

Koskei noted that despite ongoing reform efforts – such as multiple policy circulars and the establishment of the Government Efficiency Office through Executive Order No. 1 of 2025 – key delivery milestones continue to fall short. He warned that underperformance will no longer be tolerated and urged all institutions to align with the Administration’s policy direction, which aims to recalibrate the conduct and output of public entities in line with national goals and citizen expectations.

“The continuous and visible improvement of performance and efficiency across the Public Service has remained a key priority of this Administration since its inception,” Koskei stated.

He said targeted campaigns have been launched to address systemic issues within the public service.

According to Koskei, the Wednesday meeting will seek to outline urgent reforms and reinforce the government’s commitment to achieving zero-fault audit outcomes, enhancing productivity, ensuring compliance, and revamping regulatory agencies.

All Principal Secretaries and CEOs of State Corporations have been instructed to personally attend the virtual session, accompanied by their senior officers in finance, audit, procurement, legal, HR, and other key functions.

Koskei further stressed the need to instill discipline, accountability, and a strong work ethic across the entire service.

“Identified weaknesses have led to loss of trust by the public; inexplicable loss and wastage of public funds and resources; inordinate delays in the delivery of services to the public; and delivery of substandard goods and services to the public, both in terms of quality and quantity,” he stated.