Administrative officers asked to help in fighting corruption

Interior Ministry Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo with the Head of Public Service Felix Koskei when they met with 400 National Government Administration Officers. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

The Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has challenged members of the National Government Administrative Office (NGAO) to help in fighting corruption.

Koskei said for a long time that the vice has stood in the path of transformation of the country. Thus, there is a need for all to participate in weeding it out.

"The government has implemented a series of strategies including strengthening investigative agencies and leveraging the support of the National Government Administrative Office (NGAO) stationed across the country," Kosei stated.

The Chief of Staff was addressing a meeting in Nairobi that brought together the entire structure of the National Government Administrative Office (NGAO) across the country.

"It is no secret that corruption has been normalized to the extent that public servant's factor what they will 'eat' within the budget for public projects and programmes," Koskei noted

He explained that the officers are the representatives and face of government in the eyes, which gives them a liaison role between the county and National Government.

"The interactions with county governments and citizens present you the opportunity to articulate and demonstrate the government's commitment to ethical conduct and fair treatment in the provision of public services," he said.

He added, "We are telling them (NGAO's) to take charge, ensure that weed out those people who tarnish the government reputation by extorting making documents disappear and demanding money for government services"

At the same time, he emphasized the importance of collaboration among the executive, judiciary, and parliament to win the war against corruption.

On his part, Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo commended NGAOs across the country for their efforts in ensuring the safety of Kenyans.

Omollo noted that their responses have positioned the Interior Ministry as one of the enablers of sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development in the country.

"As the Chairs of the respective security and Intelligence Committees in their jurisdiction, these officers have progressively cascaded the all-of-government approach to security and law enforcement," PS Omollo stated.

The PS added that through the help of NGAOS, the government has managed to recover over 100 firearms from the civilians and silenced the bandits in the North Rift.

Omollo outlined that the state department has lined up various interventions to improve the capacity of NGAO officers.

"NGAOs currently have only 432 vehicles. There is a deficit of 1,072 vehicles for field officers, 80 vehicles for Ministry Headquarter departments and agencies, and 4000 motorcycles for Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs whose acquisition will go a long way to enhancing their operations." He added.