The annual performance review for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) is now slated to commence on December 9.
The assessment, spearheaded by the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Performance and Delivery Management, will span two months and will also extend to tertiary institutions.
The process is a culmination of the performance contracting framework in the public service aiming to ensure that public institution meet their targets and deliver quality services to the public.
“It is carried out in a manner that ensures objectivity and integrity of the results,” Director of Information and Head of Public Communications at the office Daniel Irukan said in a statement.
Performance evaluation is based on the commitments agreed upon at the beginning of the financial year and which are contained in the performance contracts of respective MDAs.
The government is using performance contracting as the key performance management tool for implementing its programmes and projects for socio-economic transformation.
"Its objectives are to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the management of public service and improve service delivery," he stated.
This is by ensuring that top-level managers are accountable for results, and in turn, hold those below them accountable.
It reverses the decline in the efficiency of the public service.
It also ensures that the allocation of resources is aligned with the attainment of the key national policy priorities of the government.
Additionally, it measures and evaluates performance, links rewards to measurable performance, and strengthens and clarifies the obligations required of the government and its employees in order to achieve agreed targets.
The performance indicators contained in the performance contracts are informed by national development goals, as espoused mainly in the Kenya Vision 2030 and the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
The contracts are cascaded to all Departments, Agencies, Sections, Units and eventually to all cadres of employees in order to entrench a performance-oriented culture in the public service.
At the end of the financial year, MDAs undergo performance evaluation in order to determine actual achievements against the targets set in the performance contracts.
Speaking during the signing of ministerial performance contracts on November 19, President William Ruto urged Cabinet Secretaries to take personal responsibility to ensure the targets are achieved.
At the end of the financial year, Ruto pointed out that each CS will receive a performance report card reflecting their ministry’s achievements.
He noted that the scorecard will ensure that performance contracting does not become a meaningless ritual.
The evaluation process starts with MDAs undertaking mandatory self-performance evaluation (in-house evaluation) based on the annual achievements for each Performance Indicator and the Targets in the Performance Contract.
This was completed in time by all MDAs thus paving the way for the upcoming external evaluation.
The external evaluation exercise will be coordinated by the Public Service Performance Management Unit (PSPMU) in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Performance and Delivery Management.
It will entail physical verification of the quarterly and annual achievements for the 2023/24 Financial Year as reported by MDAs.
This will ensure credibility of the exercise and its results.
The whole process of performance evaluation is undertaken through the Government Performance Management Information System (GPCIS).
