The Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has identified graft, substance abuse, tribalism and mental health as some of the major challenges currently facing the public service.
Koskei said this has affected productivity, service delivery and the government's economic agenda but was quick to note that the state would address this.
This emerged during the 27th Annual national Human Resource Management conference organised by the Institute of Human Resource Management in Naivasha.
Addressing the participants, the Head of Public Service admitted that graft was rife in the public service, but was quick to add that the government was up to the task.
He said that this was affecting development plans and the government agenda as some officers sought kickbacks by working with unscrupulous traders.
“We are keen to fight graft in the public service and return to normalcy as this has disorganised economic growth,” he said.
Koskei challenged the IHRM to be the gatekeepers, adding that they should scrutinise employees before hiring them.
“Some of the workers involved in graft were hired in unclear circumstances and we are asking entities like IHRM to work with us in this fight against graft,” he said.
The Head of Public Service said that drug and illicit brew abuse was also rife in the government agencies, adding that this was affecting productivity.
“We can no longer hide our heads in the sand as we are losing our generation to drugs and alcohol, both at local level and in government offices,” he said.
During the conference, he praised the role played by the institute in the issue of good governance and integrity.
“From now henceforth we shall issue a directive that all Human Resources managers in the government should be members of the Institute of Human Resource Management,” he said.
On his part, IHRM national chairman Phillip Odera said that they were keen to work with the state to reduce the high cost of living.
“Many of the challenges the country is facing are a result of climate change but we are targeting various sectors like leather so as to increase job opportunities in the country,” he said.
Public Service Principal Secretary Amos Gathecha decried the low number of HR practitioners in the country and challenged IHRM to address this.
“Human resource department plays a crucial role in production and we are keen to increase the registered number of practitioners from 17,000 to 30,000,” he said.
