Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, on Tuesday, April 11, warned public servants against wasting government resources, reiterating that they would face penalties stipulated under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act of 2015.
The Prime CS, who spoke during the launch of the Performance Contracting Report 21/22 in Nairobi, warned that those found liable would face fines of up to Ksh4 million or 10 years imprisonment or both.
On the other hand, a corporate found guilty of violating the Act shall be fined Ksh10 million.
“We cannot condone laxity, wastage, and losses anymore. It is time to strictly apply the penalties accruing from Section 72; accounting officers failing to manage public assets to achieve value-for-money will henceforth be penalised,” Mudavadi warned.
The 2015 Act calls for accounting officers responsible for failing to ensure procurement is within approved budgets and procurement plans.
Notably, the Act was revised in 2022, providing procedures for efficient public procurement and assets disposal by public entities; and for connected purposes.
“The role of public servants is to facilitate the Government to implement its policies, and programmes and deliver services to Wananchi on a value-for-money basis. Consequently, performance targets must advance the country’s development agenda," he stated, adding that the Performance Contracts for Cabinet Secretaries ought to be aligned to the key Government priorities as contained in the Programme Based Budget (PBB) and cascaded downwards to ensure that all public servants are working towards the common good of the country.
He added that citizen-centred service delivery through an effective and efficient approach will help drive the economic transformation anchored within the Kenya Kwanza manifesto.
His office was developing a Public Service Performance Management Bill to fully anchor the Performance Management function in the entire public service institutions at both levels of Government and ensure value for money.
"The bill is aimed at raising value for money from public investments through the adoption, streamlining, and unifying norms of a whole-of-government approach," he stated.
Performance Contracting Report 21/22 evaluated the Performance of Ministries, State Corporations, and Tertiary Institutions. President William Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, graced the event.
The president also revealed that Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) Boss Pamela Mutua blew the whistle and informed him on an official demanding an increase in the purchasing price.
"We have some not very good people sitting in a certain ministry of Public works in the department of material supplies who were busy increasing the price of commodities in the middle of the food crises," Ruto stated, affirmed that the individual will be dealt with.
He also assured Kenyans that his administration was working to ensure the country relied on itself.
On Monday, April 10, the Chairperson of President William Ruto's Council of Economic Advisors, David Ndii, argued that owing to the dire economic situation, the government could easily give up and throw in the towel.
"Government is extremely wasteful, there is not a single day that I am not exasperated by not just how wasteful it is but by how deliberate it is and how unbothered people are," the advisor stated.
He suggested that Ruto's government should strengthen the relevant bodies, including the Auditor General, Controller of Budget, and other investigative agencies to deal with those misusing funds.
Furthermore, he proposed using automated services while emphasising that Ruto could deal with pending debts.
