PS urges public institutions to embrace agility and citizen -centered governance
Anita Omwenga and Aron Kinyamasyo-KNA
The Principal Secretary (PS) for State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Stephen Isaboke has said that public institutions must prioritize agility, resilience, and citizen-centered approaches to build public trust, legitimacy, and foster inclusive governance.
The PS spoke during his visit to the State Department’s exhibition booth during the commemoration of the Africa Public Service Day (APSD) 2025 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya.
The three-day event held last week under the theme “Enhancing the Agility and Resilience of Public Institutions to Achieve Equitable Governance and Rapidly Address Historical Service Delivery Gaps” marked a significant opportunity for public service and administration across the continent, he said.
Isaboke urged the State Department to champion communications to the public through infusion of advanced technologies and ensuring awareness on the various government projects are well highlighted.
He said the widespread dissemination of government programmes and projects would boost public confidence.
“Public service institutions are leveraging innovation and creativity to address service delivery gaps and promote equitable governance,” he said, adding that the public sector must continually evolve to meet emerging challenges and citizen expectations.
The PS pointed out that public institutions are at the forefront of fostering agile, resilient systems capable of addressing the deep-rooted service delivery gaps and promoting equity.
He said through deliberate policy interventions, inclusive decision-making, and effective service delivery, public institutions can rapidly address historical service delivery gaps and bridge past divides.
Isaboke underscored the need for the development of documentaries that focus on the various governments’ flagship projects, Vision 2030 and implementation of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
“It is imperative to disseminate up to date information on various government projects including Affordable Housing Project, Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), Competency-Based Curriculum, Kenya Vision 2030 among others in public spaces,” he said.
The PS, while acknowledging the digital age, called for a balance of digital and hard copy publications saying that future generations would be able to trace that historical journey travelled by the publications through the hard copies.
“By fostering innovation, accountability, and responsiveness, the APSD aims to equip institutions with the capacity to adapt to emerging challenges and meet the evolving needs of citizens,” he said.
He, at the same time, highlighted the importance of proper archiving of government documents and records for reference by successive administrations and future generations.
“Most of these records could be used by the successive administrations and even the coming generations to understand in depth how the state department has evolved since time immemorial to modern day technology so as to gauge and continue advancing public service delivery,” he said.
He lauded the efforts displayed by the officers from his department in organizing their booth and displaying different materials including various publications from Kenya News Agency, Kenya Yearbook and GAA, which he termed best for providing and accessing government’s information materials to the citizens up to the counties as well as.
Isaboke said that the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunication’s participation in the APSD aligns with the broader goal of celebrating public service as a cornerstone of sustainable development and national progress.
The APSD event spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Service, Human Capital Development will centre on strengthening public institutions to enhance their efficiency, effectiveness, agility, and resilience in service delivery.