Workers’ retirement age may rise

Civil servants’ retirement age could rise to 60 years if a recommendation by the Public Service Commission is implemented.

Its chairman, Mr Titus Gateere, announced on Wednesday that the PSC supports calls to increase the retirement age from the current 55 years to 60, a move that Prime Minister Raila Odinga also seems to back.

While launching the second annual Public Service Week, Mr Odinga said: “You heard what Mr Gateere said... pay keen attention to it.”

The PM warned civil servants to toe the line by avoiding corruption, nepotism and incompetence.

“Even if you are my own brother and you can’t deliver on the services, I have no reason but to kick you out. The Government is well balanced and nobody should say because this factory is in our place, the chief executive officer must come from here. Lets rise above cheap thinking,” he said in apparent reference to recent calls made by some Coast MPs over the running of Kenya Ports Authority.

Zero tolerance

“We want to ensure that the Government operates with zero tolerance to corruption,” he added.

Mr Odinga urged the public to shun giving bribes to civil servants, citing the rampant practise in the Police Force and Provincial Administration as a worrying trend which needs to come to an end.

He said that the Government will face public disaffection if transparency and accountability are not observed.

“Kenyans have proven to us that they know their power and have the ability to throw out not only MPs, but even a whole government,” he explained.

He said Government services must reflect what the people seek and that the era when the Government was ‘King’ was long gone.

“The heavy-handed, top-down approach is no longer tenable,” he added.

The theme of this year’s Public Service Week is: “The Citizen’s Service Delivery Charter”.

The charters provide essential information needed to understand the functions and services of all public institutions. With this information, wananchi will be in a position to hold the Government to account.

The PM explained that this year’s theme had gone a step further of last year’s theme: Huduma Bora ni Haki Yako (quality service is your right) by clearly defining what Huduma Bora (quality service) is.

He said civil servants had a major role to play as the Government embarked on building the economy. “And while we will never be able to deliver everything we are required to, discourtesy and lethargy are unacceptable in the civil service,” he said.

Mr Odinga also said that the Public Complaints Standing Committee, which he launched recently, would help build institutional complaint handling capacity to strengthen public sector institutions and improve delivery of public services.

He said that the Government still performed poorly in areas such as technology adoption, which is the trend worldwide.

Mr Odinga thanked all civil servants for embracing and championing reforms which have changed the face of the public service.

Performance contracting, he said, had brought the country at par with the best in the continent. “We want to aim even higher and be rated with the best in the world,” Mr Odinga added.

Staff training

He said training of staff to improve professional skills, continuous revision of salaries and meritorious promotions will be enhanced.

The launch was also attended by several Cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries and top Government officials. Similar functions are also being carried out in the districts.

Mr Odinga toured the exhibition stalls of all ministries and parastatals showing their performance standards.