State officers’ performance will be judged not only by the projects they deliver but also by how effectively they communicate with Kenyans.
This is as the government moves to make communication a key part of public service performance.
Broadcasting and Communications PS Stephen Isaboke said communication would be embedded in government projects and be part of the yardstick to measure the performance of state officers.
He said major government projects would be required to have a communication component in their budgets so Kenyans are informed and engaged from the beginning of an initiative to its implementation.
“Communication is going to be one of the measures for Key Performance Indicators for state officers,” Isaboke said in recent televised interview.
“The policy requires that major projects include communication funding so you don’t just build but engage the public.”
The PS said the move was informed by recognition government could deliver a project successfully but still fail to get public support if it did not explain what it was doing, why it was doing it and how Kenyans stood to benefit.
He said the government had done considerable work on physical development but communication had not always received similar attention.
“We realised we have done so much in terms of brick and mortar development. But the communication element is either lacking or not enough,” he said.
The PS said the new approach was part of efforts to address what he described as communication asymmetry and a trust deficit, which had allowed misinformation and fake news to gain ground.
Isaboke said government communication was complex because the state is a large institution with different levels, ministries, departments and agencies, each with responsibilities that must ultimately support the administration’s agenda.
“Until you join government, you will find it is a huge machine, complex and the issue of communication is also very complex, dynamic,” he said.
He said effective communication must begin with clarity on what the government was seeking to communicate.
“One has to step back and ask, communicate on what? What are we actually going to communicate? You can also communicate nothing.”
Isaboke said every administration had an agenda it sought to implement, noting President William Ruto’s administration had identified five pillars to guide its programme.
These are agricultural reform, support for small and medium enterprises, Universal Health Coverage through the Social Health Authority, affordable housing, and the digital superhighway and creative economy.
On the structure of government communication, Isaboke said the President remained the formal spokesperson of the state, supported by officials around the presidency.
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy serves as the parent ministry for government communicators.
The government spokesperson, he said, serves as the official voice of government, amplifying positions already taken by the state.
The ministry also coordinates communicators across national government institutions and county structures, linking policy messages with public engagement and public feedback channels.
“A position taken, for example by the weatherman, he says we have been advised…they echo and amplify to support a policy pronouncement,” he said.
Isaboke dismissed concerns that government agencies were operating in silos, pointing to the communication policy recently approved by Cabinet.
He said the policy was designed to avoid discordance by ensuring government institutions worked from one set of facts and details when communicating on a common agenda.
“It is like having an orchestra, where we practice. We are working to ensure there is no gap,” the PS said.
He said communication officers were also being elevated within government structures, with some being promoted to director level to support Cabinet secretaries and principal secretaries in explaining government programmes.
Funding, he said, was another area being addressed because communication could no longer be treated as an afterthought.
Isaboke said the government was also seeking to strengthen public feedback mechanisms.
He cited barazas as one of the traditional channels through which government policies are explained and feedback collected.
“The constitution is clear about public participation. In public service, we are here to serve the public,” the PS said.
He said the National Communication Centre would introduce a USSD code for enquiries and feedback, while Kenyans could already contact individual ministries through designated points of contact.
Isaboke said improved connectivity was critical to the initiative, noting the growing use of digital government platforms such as eCitizen.
He said chiefs were being empowered to engage citizens through digital platforms, including WhatsApp, but needed reliable sources from which they could verify information when challenged.
He cited El Niño preparedness as an example of coordinated communication, saying the Deputy President was leading the government’s messaging and officials were being provided with verified information from the Kenya Meteorological Department.
“Met briefed us, then we have teams simplifying the message for consumption by Kenyans. We will be giving periodic updates,” he said.
On officials who make statements outside agreed government positions, Isaboke said the communication policy would define roles and provide a common source of facts.
“When it comes to people talking out of line, they will be called out,” he said.
“We will ensure we have one source of facts and define roles so that everyone knows their place.”
The PS, however, rejected the suggestion the government was seeking to control the messages coming from public officials and instead described the objective as consistency.
“You cannot control,” he said, pointing to Kenya’s broad media environment and constitutional protections.
He said the government would instead seek to be proactive by anticipating the information Kenyans need and providing it in time.
Isaboke said the government wanted its development agenda tested against tangible results rather than political rhetoric.
“We are not about political rhetoric. We are talking about development communication,” he said.
“We need to be sure and we show other than talk. Test us on tangible things.”
Isaboke cited irrigation projects in Tana River as an example of development that could be communicated through what citizens could see and experience.
He said the government also needed to “overcommunicate” programmes such as SHA so that Kenyans understood how they work and could identify the benefits.
The overall objective, Isaboke said, was to ensure communication moved from being an activity undertaken after government decisions had been made to becoming part of policy implementation itself.
“We have mechanisms for a conversation,” he said.
