Policy Development Ministry

INTRODUCTION

Ministry of public service, youth and gender affairs had three departments. It is headed by CS Prof. Margaret Kobia, assisted by Chief Administrative Secretary and two Principal Secretaries.

Background 

The Vision 2030 states that Kenya wishes to have an efficient, motivated and well-trained public service 

Department for Youth Affairs

In 2003, the government formulated a five-year development strategy (Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation, 2003–2007). Within this period, a department for Youth Affairs was created and Kenya National Youth Policy (KNYP) (2007), was formulated (Republic of Kenya 2011), which saw the creation of the Fund. Youth bulges have become a global phenomenon and Kenya is no exception to this trend. In Kenya, the youth bulge presents a number of challenges for both the youth and the country. Youth represent the most abundant asset Kenya has or will have over the near future. Nonetheless, there have been a considerable number of surveys conducted and reports and studies published that invariably conclude that there are persistent risks and challenges faced by Kenyan youth. The youth are, and will remain, a significant share of Kenya's population for the foreseeable future. Developing and implementing appropriate strategies, policies and programmes to mitigate the risks and challenges they (the youth) face must be much more of a priority for the government than it currently is. Any failure to provide appropriate opportunities for this large segment of the population could have enormous economic, political, cultural, and social consequences. Engaging the youth population fully is therefore no longer a choice but an imperative in the development process.

Department of Gender Affairs 

The State Department of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs was established through Executive Order No. 1 of May 2016 with the overall mandate of promoting gender equality and women empowerment through specific functions. These assignments are in the following areas: 

1. Gender Policy Management; 
2. Special Programmes for Women; 
3. Gender Mainstreaming in Ministries, Departments and Agencies; 
4. Community Mobilization; 
5. Domestication of International Treaties/Conventions on Gender; 
6. Policy and Programmes on Gender Violence. 

The Department is also responsible for key institutions in the country namely; The Women Enterprise Fund, UWEZO Fund, National Government Affirmative Action Funds, the Anti-FGM Board and Gender Violence Protection Centres. In carrying forward the gender equality and women’s empowerment agenda, the Department recognizes that commendable progress has been made over the years in this journey. Today, Kenya has a Constitution that guarantees equality between women and men as well as progressive gender legislation and policies. 

Department of Public Service 

Governments have made major changes to the way they manage the public sector in the past two decades, privatising commercial activities such as telephone services, cutting red tape and making government more transparent and responsive to citizens.

Function

Article 234 of the Constitution outlines the functions and powers of the Public Service Commission. According to the article the Commission is expected to;

1. Establish and abolish office in the public service;
2. Appoint persons to hold or act in public offices, and to confirm appointments;
3. Exercise disciplinary control over and remove persons holding or acting in those offices;
4. Promote the values and principles referred to in Articles 10 and 232 throughout the public service;
5. Investigate, monitor and evaluate the organization, administration and personnel practices of the public service;
6. Ensure that the public service is efficient and effective;
7. Develop human resources in the public service;
8. Review and make recommendations to the national government in respect of conditions of service, code of conduct and qualifications of officers in the public service;
9. Evaluate and report to the President and Parliament on the extent to which the values and principles referred to in Articles 10 and 232 are complied with in the public service;
10. Hear and determine appeals in respect of county governments’ public service; and
11. Perform any other functions and exercise any other powers conferred by national legislation.

The Constitution further bestows upon the Commission other functions which include the following:

1. Nominating persons to the Judicial Service Commission and Salaries Remuneration Commission under Articles 171(2) and 230(2){b} respectively;
2. Recommending persons to be appointed as Principal Secretaries under Article 155 (2) (a);
3. Receiving petitions for the removal of the Director of Public Prosecutions and recommending appointment of a tribunal to investigate the complaints under Article 158(2) (3) and (4).

Departments

Public Service and Youth Affairs- Directorate of Public Service Management provides strategic leadership and guidance to the Public service on the human resource management and development.

Department of Youth Affairs-The core mandate and responsibilities of the DYA include five broad areas. The National Youth Policy, Youth Employment Policy, Youth Mainstreaming in National Development, Coordinating youth issues in national development, Spearheading protection of youth from harmful cultural practices and exploitation.

Gender Affairs - The mandate of Gender Affairs department is to promote gender mainstreaming in national development processes and champion and socio-economic empowerment of women.

Jubilee Big 4 vs Thirdway Alliance Big Goals

Gaps

1. The 2/3rds Gender rule has yet to be fulfilled by the current government
2. There is a big difference between what is on paper in terms of policy and what is on the ground in terms of policy implementation.
3. Unfair allocations of the funds set aside for youth, women and PWD
4. Unequal access to employment opportunities amongst the youth
5. Not enough tenders awarded to the youth women and PWD according procurement amendment rules of 2013.
6. Salary differences in the public sector with huge gaps being seen between various government positions.
7. There is no regional balancing when hiring of public servants with some regions being marginalized as they may not have someone on the inside despite having the right qualifications

Way Forward

1. Analyse the full picture in various state departments to track and monitor the resources provided to help deliver services as prescribed in the policy. 
2. Offering public awareness opportunities all year round to educate the community about the services expected to them from the government institutions.
3. Employ harsh penalties for all those who violate the law especially corruption and theft of public funds and ensure implementation of the same.
4. Providing yearly salary increment based on performance for employee as a motivation. 
5. Ensuring the HR current policies are applied effectively

As a Ministry collaborate with others to address the following

1. Introduce to the syllabus a mandatory civics class that would cover the constitution of Kenya.
2. Work study programs offered in high schools to enable the youth get hands on career experience before they get into university.
3. Establish working GBV care centres to provide temporary shelter for victims

Conclusion

Public Service Youth and Gender Affairs as a broad ministry should facilitate how the set policies are effected fully. It should be in the forefront of ensuring gender parity within all state departments is carried out as per stipulated in the 2010 constitution. Moreover, awareness and public education should be accessible to all Kenyans in their various regions throughout the year. The hiring process should ensure that not only are the right candidates hired for the right positions but also that there is adequate representation from all regions within Kenya.

References

Republic of Kenya. (2007b). Kenya vision 2030. Nairobi: Ministry of State for Planning

United Nations. (2006). The millennium development goals report 2006. New York: United Nations

Republic of Kenya. (2007a). Gender policy in education. Nairobi: Ministry of Education.

Saito, M. (2010). Has gender equality in reading and mathematics achievement improved? SACMEQ III Policy Issues Series, No. 4. Paris: SACMEQ.

Republic of Kenya (2010). The New Constitution. Nairobi: Government Printers

Kenya National Youth Policy Sessional Paper No. 3 July 2007. Government Printer: Nairobi

Republic of Kenya, Ministry of Education. (2007): Gender Policy in Education

National Council of Children Services. (2009). The Framework for the National Child Protection System for Kenya