Government bureaucracy hindering Kenya's progress - Former CS Kuria

Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria now says there is a "terrible" bureaucracy in public service.

Speaking on Citizen TV on Monday night, Kuria said this is what was attributing it to the government's poor service delivery.

"It is terrible! Terrible! The bureaucracy in government is terrible! Sometimes you want to do the right things and wonder if those people care," he said.

The former CS recalled when he was at the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry, where he could travel globally in search of investors, but the process of onboarding them would then become an expensive endeavour.

"In the Ministry of Trade and Investments, for example, you go to investors who have places to take their money and convince them, and they choose Kenya... and you think you have bagged them, but when you come home...," Kuria explained.

"You come back home and try to work through the system that is supposed to make that happen. I've got investors who have spent millions of dollars on travel and sometimes you wonder, those are the investments that are going to create jobs," he added.

"Sabotage" claims

Kuria also claimed that he experienced "sabotage" from junior public servants who he claimed made it hard for a CS to implement key programmes and trade deals with foreign investors.

However, The former CS emphasised the need for a discussion on the issue of bureaucracy.

He expressed disappointment that some government officials are unwilling to embrace new ideas that could help create jobs for the youth.

Kuria also expressed hope that the newly appointed CSs will find a supportive environment in the government, with people ready to make the right decisions to advance the country's development.

"It makes me sad about this country. We need to have a big conversation on this, it's like some people in government are trained to say no. Sometimes you wonder if it is because they don't love the country or something like that," Kuria said

"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 is among those CSs who were sacked and not re-appointed by President William Ruto after the Cabinet's dissolution last month.