Performance PS appeals for more funding

 

Principal Secretary for the State Department for Performance and Delivery Management Veronica Nduva has appealed to the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Security and Administration, to ensure the State Department receives enough funding to fulfill its mandate.

Nduva revealed that during the ongoing Financial Year 2023/2024, her Department received a budget of only Ksh400 million leaving a Budget Deficit of Ksh1 billion thus significantly affecting the delivery of the mandate of monitoring and supervising multi-billion shillings projects being undertaken by various ministries and state agencies.

The PS called on the Parliamentary Committee, to support their appeal for more funding of Ksh1.4 billion in the next Financial Year, to facilitate and ensure they meet their mandate of ensuring projects being implemented, meet their quality standards, and are completed on time.

Nduva was speaking in Naivasha, on Monday, during a meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Security and Administration, led by the Narok West Member of Parliament (MP) Gabriel Tongoyo Koshal, who is the Chair.

The Department briefed the Committee on their programmes, achievements, and challenges.

The State Department for Performance and Delivery Management, came into existence in October last year through an Executive Order and is mandated to monitor Projects` implementation monitoring and also monitor the evaluation of the same project to warrant that Kenyans get value for money.

She noted that in the short stint in Office, they have carried out 453 performance contracting across ministries, departments, Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs), and Agencies, to ensure the civil servants deliver to Kenyans.

“We appreciate the importance of these performance contracts and they are at the heart of the President and this is a sure way of achieving service delivery for the people,” the PS said.

Therefore, she defended the request for more funding, noting that this will facilitate proper monitoring and evaluation of work being done, adding that, all resources will be utilized prudently while ensuring the employment of more staff in the Department to boost its operations.

Nduva stated that the State Department is currently facing numerous challenges, including a lack of a legal framework to support the implementation of performance management as well as a lack of mechanisms for compliance with quality standards for public service delivery, and has already started working on it with a team of experts.

Mr. Tongoyo said the State Department for Performance and Delivery Management was a key Department that is entrusted with ensuring Kenyans get value for money and pledged that his Committee would support it to get funding to fulfill its mandate.

“This Department is tasked to ensure the Government delivers not only standard projects but also on time and also ensure stalled projects are dealt with, to avoid spillage and wastage of resources,” Tongoyo said.

BY KNA