NAIROBI, Kenya, June 22 – The government plans to overhaul performance management in the public sector by linking pay and career progression to productivity and service delivery.
Under proposed reforms, the government will re-engineer the current Performance Contracting Framework and increase the weighting of productivity indicators from the current three percent to at least 50 percent by June 2028.
The reforms will be led by the Office of the Head of Public Service and Human Capital Development (HOPS), working alongside the Public Service Performance Management and Monitoring Unit (PSPMMU) and the National Productivity and Competitiveness Centre (NPCC).
The changes are aimed at accelerating labour productivity growth, improving service delivery, strengthening fiscal sustainability, enhancing citizen satisfaction, and supporting Kenya’s ambition of becoming a globally competitive economy.
The resolutions were adopted during the first National Productivity and Performance Conference held between June 17 and 19 at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi.
Among the key proposals is a requirement for all government ministries, departments and agencies at both national and county levels to link employee remuneration, promotions and career advancement to measurable performance and productivity outcomes.
The conference also resolved to fast-track policy, legislative, institutional and administrative reforms across the public service by June 2027.
Public institutions will further be required to strengthen human capital development and management systems to improve performance, while enhancing domestic revenue mobilisation and the efficient use of public resources.
In addition, government agencies will be expected to fully automate and digitise public services and internal operations to improve efficiency, transparency and citizen experience.
To guide implementation, the conference steering committee has been given 60 days to develop a comprehensive framework for executing the resolutions.
“The Conference further resolves that a permanent governance, coordination, monitoring and financing framework shall be established to oversee implementation of the National Productivity Reform Agenda,” the conference statement said.
If implemented, the reforms would mark one of the most significant shifts in public sector performance management, with productivity becoming a central factor in evaluating and rewarding civil servants.
