Kenya Earns Global Prize for Progress in Governance

June 26, 2007—Back in February 2007, Kenyans from all walks of life engaged high court judges and magistrates in a candid exchange of views about the poor performance of the Kenyan judiciary. It was a rare occasion for the public to interact with the usually reserved judiciary on sensitive issues, including corruption and delays in the administration of justice, especially justice for the poor.

The judiciary open forum, covered extensively by the media, was a hallmark of the freedoms that Kenyans enjoy, and their level of expectation these days. They speak freely—expressing frank views about the government, members of Parliament, and the World Bank and other donors—in public forums, radio and television talk shows, newspapers, and social places.

Transparency Rewarded

This week the United Nations will recognize the country’s efforts in improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in public service delivery.  On June 26, 2007, Kenya will receive the highly competitive UN Public Service Award.  The winners in this category from other regions are Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Chile, India, and Singapore.   

Kenya is being recognized with the “most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service” for introducing result-based public sector performance contracts. The contracts bind public officials and institutions to respond to Kenyans’ demand for better services and are an integral part of a results-based management approach that was adopted when a new government took office in 2003.  They are overseen by a steering committee secretariat located in the Office of the President.  

This approach, with monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that include members of the public, was introduced to underpin Kenya’s economic recovery by dealing with the chronic problems that had undermined growth for decades, including corruption, poor public service delivery, and lack of transparency and accountability in public decision making. 

The program gained further traction last year when President Mwai Kibaki held a public forum in which he announced the results of the performance assessment for each Ministry in the presence of anxious ministers and senior civil servants, and an observant local and international media.

New Results for Kenyans poster with boys passing by

The public sector is becoming so sensitive to their results that when the Office of the President (OP) —which includes Provincial Administration and the Police—was itself rated one of the worst offices on corruption, the President immediately ordered a rapid results initiative to respond to the matter. 

While significant problems remain, this initiative is changing the quality, image, and speed of service that OP provides. “We have moved from filthy, rat-infested government offices with toilets you could smell from the door, to clean offices with comfortable waiting rooms with TVs,” said a deputy provincial commissioner during a recent independent assessment mission to three provinces conducted by several development partners. 

Time to Deliver

Said another official, “When the President inducted me, he said go to Nyanza and deliver services to Kenyans.  If you can’t, go home from there.” Responding to the same new incentive framework that is spreading across the public service, the Registrar General’s Office took less than 3 months to reduce the number of days to start a business from 54 to 27 days.  Similarly, mobile calling rates fell by 50 percent through liberalization over the course of 9 months. This initiative is contributing to better results in other areas, including the issue of passports, which now takes only two weeks instead of several months. 

The Example of Health

Pregnant women receiving anti-malarials jumped from 4 to 44 percent of all pregnant women while immunization coverage rose from around 410,000 to more than 700,000 in three months.  The number of individuals voluntarily testing for HIV/AIDS more than doubled to about 470,000 in less than nine months. Meanwhile, new patients on anti-retro-viral drugs increased from about 72,000 to nearly 97,000 in three months.  Other areas that have benefited from the focus on results include water and sanitation services.

The Government has worked with the World Bank and other development partners, including the UK Department for International Development (DFID), to mainstream results-based management in public service delivery. The Bank’s support for this initiative is through several programs, including the Institutional Reform and Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project, the National Statistical System Project, and the Transparency and Communications Infrastructure. ( www.worldbank.org/ke).

Rethinking How We Work

“Results-based management is also causing us to rethink the way we work and assess our impact at all levels—policy analysis, dialogue, lending, and partnerships,” says Colin Bruce, country director forComoros, Eritrea, Kenya, Seychelles and Somalia.

Take lending as an example. The National Statistical System Project (STATCAP) is piloting, for the first time in Kenya, an impact evaluation of the Western Kenya Community Driven Development (WKCDD) Project—a poverty intervention project approved by the Bank in March 2007.

Transparency and accountability in the education system under the free primary education program has improved children's access to primary school education

Although governance remains a challenge for Kenya, results-based management is contributing to better public service delivery and economic growth. Recent opinion polls show that the public perceives measurable improvements in a number of service areas, including education, health and especially HIV/AIDS care. In other areas such as the judiciary and security, where results are still not encouraging, there is greater consensus between the government, the people, and other stakeholders on what needs to be done to improve the quality of services and how to do it.

   Contributed by Peter Warutere, communications officer, AFREX Kenya