FGD on Public Service Delivery Elicits Mixed Reactions on Our National Values
By Teresia Muia
In a heated focused group discussion (FGD) on Wednesday 23rd January, Loyola center for media and communications (LCMC) involved 6 members of the public and government officers in an open forum focused on public service delivery, lighting a spark for LCMC’s Angaza dialogue Platform (ADP). Angaza Dialogue Platform is a LCMC project that seeks to promote timely government responsiveness embracing respect and humanity in public service delivery through intersection of religion and civic engagement. The six participants included Mr. Brown Kutwa, the Director of Communications at the Public Service Commission; Inspector Hillary Chepkuony, a senior police officer; Cliff Mboya, CEO of Bay Leadership Consultancy LLC, USA, Nairobi, Kenya; Sarah Kairu, a human resource expert and job seeker; Stephen Osiemo, a small business owner; and Boniface Opany, Domus Radio Station Manager.
During this interactive session, Mr. Denson Machuki the LCMC admin and the programs officer in charge of ADP, opened the session by guiding the participants through the four thematic concerns of the program which include; Interactivity and Communication between the government and the public, Ethical and Respectful Service Delivery, Addressing the Culture of Silence by the government and Operational Efficiency and Transparency. Praising the project as an excellent step towards a transformative society, Mr Kutwa invited the LCMC team to ensure that the project is consistent and sustainable over a long period of time. “You need to visualize the problem and know how deep You are willing to go.’’ Said Mr. Kutwa
The session saw the participants in mixed reactions as they expressed their sentiments about the state of the nation with regards to the public service delivery, general conduct of the citizens and the behavior of those supposed to address such issues like the church and the government.
“We want to see the church standing firm to condemn the wrongs but also give credit where it deserves. ’Said Mr. Osiemo
“Kenyans have a negative mental model about their own country, but we need people to condemn what is wrong and give credit where there is credit.” added Inspector Hillary Chepkuony.
“Why is it that as a country we are too religious and yet the opposite is what we see outside? ’Mr. Kutwa asked, wondering why as a nation we are struggling with evils like corruption and poor leadership which should be attributed to non-religious countries. As the irony of the country’s hardships despite her religious background stand out, the concern on whether we should go back to old values and good cultures and inculcate them to the current young generation is raised.
Some participants were infuriated by the governments delay in addressing some evils and the unfairness in accessing public services. “It’s sad because if you are in the private sector and you are corrupt you get fired but if you are in the government and you are corrupt you get transferred to another department, is this not transferring corruption to the new department.?’’ Asked Mr. Mboya.
The session came to an end but one question remained; what is the problem? Is the government a poor story teller or the people don’t really understand?
