Results-based management is key in transforming public sector service delivery by promoting a culture of accountability, enhancing operational efficiency, and driving performance-based outcomes.
According to Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, for governments to deliver on every promise, leaders must embrace measurable, result-oriented, and institutionalized performance management systems.
The Governor was speaking at the Agricultural Training Center – Soilo during the launch of the first cycle of the Nakuru County Rapid Results Initiative (RRI), which started on September 13 and ends on December 22, 2024.
RRI is a short-term approach used by organizations or governments to achieve quick and specific goals, usually within 100 days or less, with a focus on one key problem or objective to find fast, practical solutions.
She stated that the initiative will serve as a major boost for reform efforts, enhancing project implementation capacity while focusing on the development of people-centered policies and programs.
In late February, the Governor launched a County Integrated Development Plan under the theme “Sustained Economic Growth for Shared Prosperity.” The blueprint integrated her 2022 campaign manifesto.
“It is upon this manifesto that the government and I will be measured; the public will ask what we did with the manifesto we presented when we went to ask them to give us the opportunity to lead,” she noted.
She said her administration has developed policies and programmes that seek to promote social equity, economic growth, and employment opportunity creation in a timely, efficient, and effective manner.
She added that her administration has come up with performance management tools that will ensure a continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams alongside strategic goals.
To embrace the results-centred working culture, the Governor said all departments and agencies would have clarity on obligations while eliminating the ‘silo approach’ in project formulation and execution.
The silo approach in management and service delivery refers to a situation where different departments, teams, or units within an organization operate in isolation from each other, with limited or no communication and collaboration.
“I am keen on rewarding exemplary performing staff and sanctioning poor performance within a framework that supports the objectives of attracting, nurturing, and retaining qualified and highly productive staff,” she stated.
The initiative’s launch saw County Executive Committee Members, Chief Officers, Directors, and departmental managers sign a pledge to deliver results during the initiative’s timeframe, with the Governor holding them accountable.
She emphasized that the public service, particularly the civil service, plays an essential role in delivering services that are vital to the county’s economic functioning and overall development.
“When the delivery of services is constrained or becomes ineffective, it affects the quality of life of the people, whom I share their interests, and the county’s development process,” she added.
The Governor promised and firmly committed to periodically monitor the progress of project implementation and delivery of service programmes for timely project completion and an increase in own-source revenue.
