Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria said “terrible” bureaucracy in the public service is partly to blame for poor service delivery by the government.
He at the same time complained his predecessor Justine Muturi has not called for formal handover.
“Justin Muturi has not found it fit to call me even for a handover. Muturi is my friend of many years. You cannot be what young people are calling ‘kipendekezi’. I cannot pendekeza myself. It must be an invitation to do a handover. I was brought up with some mannerisms which don’t allow me to force myself on people,” he said.
He said people no longer call him since he was removed from the cabinet.
“The calls have dried up. Twice I have had the temptation of taking the phone to the fundi, nini mbaya. No calls compared to when I was CS.”
Kuria, who is among the ministers President William Ruto did not re-appoint following his dissolution of the Cabinet last month, said this on Monday while reflecting on his time as CS for Public Service and previously Trade.
“It is terrible! Terrible! The bureaucracy in government is terrible! Sometimes you want to do the right things and wonder if those people care… in the Ministry of Trade and Investments, for example, you go to investors who have places to take their money and convince them, and they choose Kenya… and you think you have bagged them, but when you come home…” Kuria told Citizen TV’s Monday Report program.
“Some spend months mark-timing, travelling to and from, and those are the investments supposed to create jobs. It makes me sad, really sad about this country.”
He said had experienced “sabotage” from junior public servants who he claimed make it hard for a CS to implement key programs and trade deals with foreign investors.
“It is like some people in government are trained on how to say ‘No’… sometimes you are sabotaged by accounting officers and directors who take their sweet time. They start with the answer ‘No’ and then draft the reasons,” Kuria said.
“I hope the new set of Cabinet is going to find an environment where people want to do the right things,” the former CS said, telling public servants: “If you don’t change the way you are doing things, even this Cabinet will not succeed.”
Kuria, while steering clear from discussing why he thinks President Ruto did not re-appoint him, said he plans to lead a private life moving forward.
“I really want to live a private life. I consider this to be my exit interview,” he said.
Nonetheless, Kuria said he was proud of the work he had done in less than two years as a minister, adding that with time, Kenyans will appreciate his performance.
“Turning the trajectory of a country takes a lot of time… I draw a lot of inspiration from the work I did as MP for Gatundu South; in the fullness of time, I know that I will be vindicated and for that reason, I know that my reward with the people of Kenya and most certainly with God is a deferred promise,” he said.
He also predicted tough times ahead if the IMF does not help Kenya.
“If IMF does not come through by the end of this month, in another 19 days, this shilling might hit 170, the dollar might hit 170 to the shilling. On Sunday when I go to church I will say a prayer for John Mbadi to hope that IMF stays engaged on this,” he said.
Kuria talked on Hustler Fund saying it worries him.
“What worries me more is that we have disbursed the Hustler Fund to 21 million Kenyans, 12 million of whom have run away with the money and the remaining ones have difficulty paying. We have only 2 million super borrowers on that fund. Oparanya has to get from not believing in it to believing in it to really doing some work.”
The former CS said a recent court ruling would have been worse if the Housing Fund was included in the Finance Act 2023.
“We should thank God for Omtatah for going to court about the Housing Fund. We have condemned Finance Act 23 and we have withdrawn Finance Act 24. The courts said please pass a standalone act on housing. If it was still part of those 2, it could have been condemned. Ironically, the person to thank, who may save our housing program is Okiya Omtatah.”
He advised the new team to stop celebrating and work hard.
“I hope my good friend Joho will stop celebrating and get down to work. I think we don’t have the luxury of celebration. If we don’t produce or export, all these things we are talking about Gen Zs, whatever happened this June will be a picnic, you will remember my words.”
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