Ole Lenku told to act on incompetent officers

BY VINCENT MABATUK

Baringo, Kenya: The Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) has recommended to the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government to take action against incompetent public officials at the Registration of Persons, Baringo County.

The commission is concerned that senior officers at the Registration of Persons offices in Kabartonjo sub-county have delegated their responsibilities to sub-ordinate staff, thus compromising security of the country.

A spot check in the county by the Ombudsman revealed that registration officers report to work late, and leave the office early relegating their duties to subordinate staff to attend to, receive documents and record details of those seeking identification documents.

The commission observed that documents were not thoroughly verified by the subordinate staff.

“Absenteeism, lateness and less experience can be costly to the country in terms of security. This is one of the key issues that needs urgent attention and should be taken with the seriousness it deserves, ” said Regina Mwatha, the commission’s vice chair.

The commission also highlighted incidents of poor access to services by minorities and exclusion from participation in governance as a possible cause of disharmony and insecurity among the different communities in the county. The audit also revealed inadequate infrastructure and systems for complaints handling and lack of capacity by officers to handle public complaints.

“While a number of public institutions have service charters, the service delivery in the county does not reflect the targets in the service charter,” said Dr Mwatha.

The commission conducted impromptu spot checks prior to awareness outreach initiatives in counties across the country to improve service delivery, accountability and responsiveness in public service.

The Baringo visit is among those that CAJ rolled out in September last year that have seen the commission hold public forums in 17 counties across the country. 

During the visits, the commission undertakes to among other things create awareness, offer advisory services and receive reports. Other institutions audited in Baringo included Kabarnet District Hospital, Kenya Medical Training College and National Environment Management Authority.