Ruku directs HR managers to punish absentee workers in gov't

Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku speaks after visiting regional government offices  at Prosperity House in Kisumu. [Michael Mute, Standard]

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has directed Human Resource managers domiciled in the ministries to punish workers who report to work late or abscond from duty.

Ruku expressed disappointment with the service delivery offered across ministries and accused HR managers  of failing to do what is required of them.

Speaking at the Nyanza regional headquarters, where he made impromptu visits to the state department offices, Ruku said most officers at the ministries are not reporting to work.

He said that most officers coming late must pull up their socks before they are caught eventually, with the technology the government is putting in place.

“If we have emails in our offices, those emails must be working, and if they are not working, remove them from our websites because Kenyans send information on some of those emails but the response is not there. If you have telephones that you are supposed to respond to and Kenyans make calls but in most cases most of those phones are not working or sometimes there is nobody to respond because those offices are not on their desks,” he said.

The CS also  directed HR managers in the state departments to send him monthly reports as far as telephone calls and enquiries from members of the public are concerned.

He noted that this move will enable them run an efficient public service.

Ruku said out of the government offices at the regional headquarters only the state department of immigration had all its employees at the work station by 8 am.

He noted that he had witnessed a similar case when he visited government offices in Mombasa, Embu, Nyeri and Nakuru.

He noted that the culture at the state department of immigration should be replicated by other state departments.

Kenyans have paid for the services through taxes and so the people are demanding that we be at our offices at the right time.

“This will help them save time and plan themselves accordingly, and so when we are not in our offices at the right time we send wrong signals. On behalf of the government of Kenya. I say thank you to the state department of immigration in Kisumu,” he said.

The CS noted that other departments were very scattered, with very few officers at the offices by 8 am.

The CS further noted that the government was working to streamline the payroll system, which would take care of some of the problems they were witnessing in public services, especially officers not reporting to work.

He said that plans to ensure this system that will shake public service will be in place by April 2026.