The Kenyan government has started the biometric registration of civil servants in all counties the first one being Kisumu county where Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary, Anne Waiguru, allayed fears that have been associated with the exercise among public servants.

Waiguru emphasized on the fact that the exercise was driven by the needs of the Kenyan citizens and is therefore going to be implemented to suit their best interests.

“I am aware that the exercise particularly the skills assessment and the biometrics registration is causing anxiety among the public officers. I want to allay any fears about the exercise and emphasize that the exercise driven by the needs of the citizens, it will also ensure that we cleanse our payroll system and identify our strengths and skills gap. Therefore genuine public servants have no cause to fear,” she said.

CS Waiguru further said that the biometric registration exercise is meant to take stock of the number of public servants at both the national and county governments with the aim of aligning skills and competencies to the areas they are best suited,while increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the public service.

“The objective of this initiative is to align government structures, processes and programs to the mandates and functions of national governments, to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in public service delivery in line with the constitution 2010”, she said.

CS. Waiguru emphasized that the exercise was part of a government’s commitment to improve public service delivery through the Capacity Assessment and Rationalization of the Public Service (CARPS) program.Page | 2

“The launch of this programme is in line with various public service reforms aimed at ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery, transparency, accountability and prudent management of resources to spur the much needed economic growth as provided in Vision 2030 and indeed the County’s Integrated Development Plan,”she said.

The CARPS programme is a joint initiative of both the National and County Governments which is expected to contribute significantly to the rationalization of the Public Service by determining the skills sets and actual numbers of public officers across the entire public service.

As part of the roll-out program, the Cabinet Secretary will also tour Kericho and Nakuru counties tomorrow to officially launch the exercise in those two counties.

Earlier, CS Waiguru paid a courtesy call to the Kisumu County governor’s office where she met a delegation from the county government that was led by the deputy governor, Ms. Ruth Odinga. The team deliberated on a host of issues ranging from women and youth empowerment to the devolvement of public service to residents of Kisumu. The CS promised to work with the county government to ensure that devolution trickles down to the residents of Kisumu. 

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