Ministries performance review begins ahead of Cabinet retreat

President William Ruto chairs a past Cabinet meeting at State House, Nairobi. [PCS] The government is reviewing performance of ministries ahead of the second Cabinet retreat scheduled for the end of January in Naivasha, government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said. Mwaura explained that the seven-day review, which is hinged on 14 issues is expected to generate a report with specific proposals. Speaking while addressing the media in Nairobi, Thursday, he said the report will be validated by consumers and implementing agencies before it is presented at the retreat. Mwaura noted that the review, will indicate the level of service delivery to Kenyans after 16 months since Kenya Kwanza regime came into office on September 13, 2022. "The review focuses on the respective ministries performance contracts, looking into ministries cross-cutting issues and the technical performance aspect with a view to establishing successes and challenges in the implementation of the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)," he said. The government spokesperson also outlined the achievements of the three ministries for the past 16 months. Public Service, Performance and Delivery Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, and various Principal Secretaries attended the media briefing. Kuria said Kenyans are going through difficult times due to the high cost of living and blamed the situation on the ongoing war in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine and inflation in United States of America (USA). He regretted that the inflation has seen a rise in interest rates that have exerted pressure not only in Kenya but the entire global south. "Two is historical injustices by the previous regime which made poor investment in agriculture. For the last so years, we have seen a decline in investment in all key production indicators including manufacturing, and foreign direct investment (FDI) which have slowed down our economic growth," said Kuria. Mwaura said the evaluation is expected to capture the policy, legal and institutional changes that need to be adopted and programmes that need to be streamlined across government. He explained that this will prevent duplication and wastage and in alignment with the exchequer and donor-funded budget. Mwaura noted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has increased job creation in the formal sector of the economy from 2.9 million to 3.1 million, translating to 6.9 per cent growth. This was attributed to the government entering into labour exchange agreements with foreign entities including the recently advertised 2,500 nurses' jobs in Saudi Arabia. On the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Mwaura said the Ministry has increased savings from Sh1.4 billion to Sh6.5 billion, thus inculcating a saving culture representing a growth of over 360 per cent. "Also, the Ministry has raised the social protection beneficiaries from the current 1.2 million to 2.5 million," he said. The government spokesperson acknowledged that the Ministry of Youth, Creative Economy Affairs and Sports, has vigorously campaigned and got the rights to host the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). "We have secured the lifting of the International Association Football Federation (FIFA) and World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA). We have also been able to establish three sports academies scheduled for completion by December. We have also initiated construction of 10 stadia to be completed by July ahead of 2027 Afcon," he said. Mwaura also cited the establishment of youth football teams under the Talanta Hela programme, the mainstreaming of youth sports and creatives across the government anchored on performance contracting among other achievements. He said that the Ministry has also rolled out a Sh20 billion National Youth National Youth Towards Advancement (Nyota) across the country that will benefit 1.3 billion youths. Mwaura noted that the Ministry of Agriculture, has grown by 6.8 per cent from 5.9 per cent in the last quarter. He announced that phase three of the national fertiliser subsidy programme will be launched soon with already 4.5 million bags distributed to farmers. Mwaura noted that 2.3 million bags of fertiliser were recently distributed to farmers and helped increase maize yield from 40 million to 61 million bags. Some 6.4 million farmers have been registered in the system from about five million. The government plans to recruit agriculture exertion officers in all the 1,450 wards to help farmers get the correct information to farm better and increase yields. "The government is also in the process of ensuring there is 1,450 food stores so that fertiliser is not just found at county headquarters," he said. In dairy production, Mwaura said that Kenya is now ranked number one followed by Egypt in Africa. "In the last 16 months, our exports have grown from 1.54 million kilograms to 18.69 million," he said.

Ministries performance review begins ahead of Cabinet retreat

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