Archives June 2021

KENYA BAGS THREE AWARDS DURING AFRICA PUBLIC SERVICE DAY

Kenya bagged three awards during the 8th Continental Africa Public Service Day celebration that was held in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe on 23rd June 2021. The awards included Best Pavilion; 1st Runners Up, Service By Appointment by Huduma Kenya; and 2nd Runners Up, Government Performance Contracting Information System.

While receiving the Huduma Kenya award, Huduma Kenya CEO, Mr. James Buyekane noted that there was a need to leverage technology to enhance public service delivery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and hence the reason the institution developed the Service By Appointment innovation.

“We have 52 centres across the country that serve up to 50,000 citizens which causes crowding. In the wake of the pandemic, we had to devise a strategy to reduce crowding through enabling customers to book appointments on their mobile phones, online platforms and through the Huduma Contact Centre,” he said.

The benefits of the Service by Appointment technology include; reduced congestion and strict adherence to physical distancing in Huduma Centres; order in service delivery where one receives service as per booking; enhanced customer satisfaction with the improved turnaround time; and savings by citizens because of the reduced number of visits to the centres and visiting the centres at their convenience.

Huduma Kenya’s Service by Appointment was acknowledged as a noble innovation that should be replicated in other African countries in order to ensure continuity of public service delivery amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Naomi Moraa

Affirmative Action Funds Cheques worth over KES. 30M Issued in Taita Taveta County

Chief Administrative Secretary, Hon. Rachel Shebesh yesterday presided over the disbursement of Affirmative Action Funds Cheques worth over KES. 30M from Uwezo Fund and the Youth Enterprise Fund to Youth, Women and Persons with Disabilities in Taita Taveta County.

Hon. Shebesh who was in a working tour monitored and evaluated various Ministry programmes in the County. She held a meeting with Taita Taveta County Commissioner, Mrs. Rhoda Nyaboke. The key highlights in their discussions was the uptake of Affirmative Action Funds and sensitisation of the public the Funds.

She urged the beneficiaries to invest their loans in profit making enterprises in order to improve their livelihoods.

Hon. Shebesh was accompanied by Taveta MP Hon. Naomi Shaban and Taita Taveta County Commissioner Mrs. Rhoda Nyaboke among other Government officials.

By Catherine Kamau

International Widows Day 2021 Celebrations

Chief Administrative Secretary for Gender, Hon. Dr. Linah Jebii Kilimo on Tuesday 23rd, June 2021 presided over the International Widows Day. The event which is commemorated annually was held in Gatanga Catholic Church, Murang’a County.

Taking cognizance of the integral role widows play in single-handedly fending for their children and raising their families, Hon. Dr. Jebii noted that over the years, most of the widows have suffered in silence, struggled with depression and financial constraints.

“Widows are susceptible to losing their right to property inheritance and are sometimes forced out of their homes and communities. These are injustices stemming from entrenched patriarchy. It diminishes the value of widows and hinders development,” she said.

The theme of this year’s International Widows Day is “Highlighting the disproportionate suffering of widows as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The Chief Administrative Secretary commended the widows for their resilience and determination during the challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hon. Kilimo urged the audience to be privy to the plight of widows and to endeavour to protect their rights.

Globally, it is estimated that there are 258 million widows and nearly one in every ten live in extreme poverty. Widows also suffer from various forms of human rights violations including stigmatization, ostracism, homelessness, ill health and discrimination both in law and custom.

Equal rights for men and women, equal protection of property rights for men and women and equal rights within marriages are provided for within the Constitution of Kenya. In order to give full effect to these non-discrimination provisions, the Constitution also provides legislative and other measures, including Affirmative Action programs designed to address marginalised groups.

By Catherine Kamau

Africa should embrace her diverse culture and arts as means of creating employment, says PS Kimonye.

Africa should embrace her diverse culture and arts as means of creating employment, says PS Kimonye.

State Department for Public Service Principal Secretary, Mrs. Mary Kimonye has urged Africa to embrace her diverse culture  and arts industry as a means of employment creation and social integration. 


The Principal Secretary made the remarks during the 4th session of the ongoing Africa Public Service Day celebrations in Zimbabwe. The session discussed how to achieve inclusivity through harnessing Arts and Culture as instruments to inform, market and build capacity for effective and efficient service delivery. 

“Culture and arts speak to the inner being and shape character. To this end, we should have cultural activities across our countries to build stronger ties and exchange ideas. Culture and arts are a cure to unemployment and we should therefore redefine employment and professionalize arts and cultural economic activities like the comedy industry, ” she said. 


Mrs. Kimonye is leading the Kenyan delegation in Zimbabwe for the 3 days event which is being held at Victoria Falls.

By Brian Kochwa

APSD 2021 Celebrations in Zimbabwe

APSD 2021 Celebrations in Zimbabwe

State Department for Public Service Principal Secretary, Mrs Mary Kimonye, on arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday ahead of the 8th Edition of the Continental Africa Public Service Day celebrations set to kick off today. Mrs. Kimonye was met by the Kenyan Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Amb. Stella Munyi.

In her remarks, Amb. Stella Munyi congratulated the five institutions that will be showcasing innovations in public service delivery at the Continental event that is being held at Victoria Falls.

She called on the team to fly the Kenyan flag high and put their best foot forward during the next 3 days.

The Principal Secretary who is leading the Kenyan delegation urged the team to do their best to ensure that Kenya emerges a winner.

The five institutions that will be showcasing innovations at the continental event include:

  1. State Department for Public Service
  2. State Department for East African Community
  3. Coast Development Authority
  4. Kenya Film Commission
  5. Kenya Wildlife Service

By Brian Were

Validation of Courses at Kenya School of Government

Validation of Courses at Kenya School of Government

Chief Administrative Secretary, Hon. Beatrice Elachi, today presided over the Validation of Graduate, Diploma and Certificate courses at Kenya School of Government.

The Kenya School of Government has developed new training programs intended to address knowledge and competency required in fields that are essential in improvement of public service and realization of Government programs, especially under the present economic and social constrains.

The purpose of the workshop was to put under consideration the draft graduate and certificate level programs in the areas of knowledge and competency development namely: public finance; public sector management; diplomacy and international negotiation; and decentralization including devolution, state corporations management and national leadership.

By Jacqueline Kirimi

PS Kimonye meets APSD2021 Team of Innovators Selected from Public Institutions

PS Kimonye meets APSD2021 Team of Innovators Selected from Public Institutions

State Department for Public Service Principal Secretary, Mrs Mary Kimonye on 14th June held a meeting with a team drawn from 7 institutions who have been identified to represent Kenya during the forthcoming Continental Africa Public Service Day (APSD) celebrations to be held in Zimbabwe from 21st to 23rd June, 2021.

Team drawn from seven institutions who have been identified to represent Kenya during the forthcoming Continental Africa Public Service Day (APSD) celebrations to be held in Zimbabwe from 21st to 23rd June, 2021 meeting at Harambee House on June 14th, 2021.

In her address during the meeting held at Harambee House, the Principal Secretary who will be leading the Kenyan delegation noted that public service is key to the development of any country.

“You have been identified as the institutions with the best innovations. Let those countries attending the event know that Kenya has the best public service innovations across the continent,” she said.

The Continental theme for APSD 2021 is ‘Building the Africa we want through embracing an ethical culture that underpins purpose driven leadership in the context of a crisis.

Mrs. Kimonye called on the team to exercise patriotism while representing Kenya at the Continental event.

Africa Public Service Day is a continental event held by African Countries to celebrate progress and achievements made in public service delivery and to showcase innovations made to improve public service delivery.

By Brian Were

Agro Processors, Food Marketers and Women Training of Trainers Workshop

Agro Processors, Food Marketers and Women Training of Trainers Workshop

On 9th June, 2021, Chief Administrative Secretary Hon. Rachel Shebesh attended the Agro Processors, Food Marketers and Women Training of Trainers.

The workshop was organized by Kenya Private Sector Alliance to provide a good avenue for women to network with their colleagues undertaking a common agenda in agriculture value chain.

Hon. Shebesh noted that Agriculture is the main economic activity employing the highest number of Kenyans with women providing 60% of labour in agricultural production, mainly at the bottom of the production chain.

She also noted that women own less than 10% of land, which denies them access to essential means of production.

“Women labour in agricultural production is poorly rewarded since they are mostly engaged in menial activities which are not economically valued. I recognize the effort made by KEPSA to provide forums for women in business to participate in agriculture value addition process to mitigate the challenges women encounter in the Agriculture sector,” she said.

The Government has made considerable steps to support women in Agro Business through:

1. Enacting legislations and policy framework to promote women inclusion in social economic development. 2. Through the Ministry of Public Service and Gender, establishing programs to enhance women participation in social economic development. 3. Through Access to Government Procurement Opportunity (AGPO), reserving 30% of all government tenders for women, youth and persons living with disabilities. 4. Signing several international and regional treaties to open market opportunities for Kenyan product, among them the African Continent Free Trade Area Agreement and The EAC common trading regime which provide wide trading space for women in Agro-processing and food marketing for women traders. 5. Committing to support micro and small enterprises involved in manufacturing, and nutrition improvement of the citizens due to their large contribution to the Big Four Agenda. 6. Developing a framework to support private initiatives which contribute to government agenda, among them agro-processing which is among the investment sector which the government is supporting to create employment and reduce poverty targeting vulnerable women.

Hon. Shebesh urged women entrepreneurs in Agro Processing and Food Marketing to be innovative and position themselves strategically to exploit the opportunities provided by the government during the distribution of COVID-19 pandemic economic stimulus funds.

By Jacqueline Kirimi

Heads of Human Resource Management and Development Units Workshop

Heads of Human Resource Management and Development Units Workshop

State Department for Public Service Principal Secretary, Mrs. Mary Kimonye on 8th June, 2021 presided over the Heads of Human Resource Management and Development Units Workshop held at the Kenya School of Government, Nairobi.

The aim of the workshop was to address pertinent issues on Human Resource Management and Development affecting public service delivery and also to launch the Public Service HR Practitioners Welfare Association.

In her official opening remarks, the Principal Secretary said that Heads of HR should at all times provide appropriate Human Resource advisory to their respective Accounting Officers to ensure the smooth running of operations.

Mrs. Kimonye called on the HR heads to put in place appropriate measures that will lead to transformation in delivery of public services by focusing on performance management and measurement.

During the workshop, Public Service HR Practitioners Welfare was launched whose objectives are to ;

1) Foster and encourage cohesiveness of the HR Professional leaders and promote welfare activities amongst its members.

2) Organize for celebrations of distinguished service of the retiring principal members.

The HR heads were urged to continue ensuring the implementation of Government directives on issues such as mental health of public officers; the Big Four Agenda, the fight against corruption and improvement of service delivery to the citizens.

“I wish to reiterate that it is the responsibility of the Heads of HR to ensure full implementation of policies and regulations affecting staff in their respective MDAs, ” said the Principal Secretary.

On his part, the Chairman of the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM), Mr. Joseph Onyango who was present commended the officers for the role they play in management of human resource at their respective departments.

By Jacqueline Kirimi

CAS Hon. Elachi Inspects Huduma Centre Mombasa

CAS Hon. Elachi Inspects Huduma Centre Mombasa

Chief Administrative Secretary Hon Beatrice Elachi held an inspection tour of Mombasa County Huduma Centre on 9th June, 2021 to assess its level of service delivery to Wananchi.

The one-stop shops spread across the 47 counties have provided a platform where Kenyans are easily accessing various Government services under one roof hence making it cheaper, efficient and effective.

“As a Government, we are proud of the Huduma Kenya Programme which is one of its kind in Africa and beyond, we commit to ensuring that we do everything possible to better the Programme for the benefit of Wananchi.” said Hon. Elachi.

Prior to touring the Huduma Centre, the CAS held a courtesy call meeting with Mombasa County Commissioner Mr. Gilbert Kitiyo who briefed on Huduma Centre status and other National Government programmers within Mombasa County.

The CAS was accompanied by Huduma Kenya CEO, Mr. James Buyekane among other officials.

By Brian Were


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