MOSES KURIA SLAMS GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY AS ‘TERRIBLE’ AND HINDERS PROGRESS
Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has come out with guns blazing, terming pervasive bureaucracy in public service as “terrible” and a clear factor for the poor service delivery by the government.
In an interview on Citizen TV, Kuria lamented that bureaucratic obstacles were to blame for good governance and effective decision-making.
Kuria spoke about his experience while heading the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry.
Notably, after much sweating to globetrotter woo investors into setting bases in Kenya, he found that tedious bureaucratic processes made the onboarding of these investors very expensive.
“In the Ministry of Trade and Investments, for example, you go out to investors who have places to take their money and convince them to choose Kenya. You think you have bagged them, but when you come home. you come back home and try to work through the system that is supposed to make that happen.” He went ahead and said, “I’ve got investors who have spent millions of dollars on travel; sometimes you wonder, those are the kinds of investments which are going to create jobs.”
Kuria also accused some junior public servants of “sabotage”, claiming they made it difficult for a Cabinet Secretary to implement key programs and trade deals, saying this sabotage impeded progress and innovation.
He added that there was a need to have a bigger discussion about the bureaucratic inefficiencies, saying, “It is terrible! Terrible! Bureaucracy in government is terrible! Sometimes you want to do the right things and wonder whether those people care.”
He expressed disappointment that some government officials seemed unwilling to embrace new ideas that could help generate employment for the youth.
Kuria said, “It makes me sad about this country. We need to have a big conversation on this. It is like some people in government are trained to say no. Sometimes you wonder, is it that they do not love the country or something like that?”
Looking ahead, Kuria expressed his hope for the newly appointed Cabinet Secretaries to find a better environment. “I do hope that the new set of Cabinet is going to find an environment where people really want to do the right things,” he added.
Kuria, who was among the Cabinet Secretaries sacked and not reappointed by President William Ruto following the Cabinet dissolution last month, concluded by calling for positive change within the government.
