Government administrators (NGAOs) will now have specific crime-reduction goals set for them as a long-term strategy to improve the productivity of their tasks in security management.
The targets will be communicated through security committees, with performances expected to be reported up the ranks through a hierarchical accountability structure.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki announced plans to establish a reward program for top performers with a view to incentivizing the management of security at the grassroots.
“Our security teams [at the regional, county, and sub-county levels], we must agree on targets. We must sit down and cascade the targets,” the CS said.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to enhancing public safety and security. “We must bring down the rate of crime in our respective areas.”
Among the expected deliverables is the enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy on the trade in illicit brews and narcotics, which Kindiki recently listed as the third existential threat to Kenya’s future alongside terrorism and banditry.
Kindiki who was addressing a public baraza in Kipipiri, Nyandarua, pointed at the apparent public health risks arising from the trade, including a decline in productivity, and declared stern action against the profiteers and collusive behavior among security officers.
“The problem of toxic drugs, dangerous chemicals that are being sold in the name of alcohol; the problem of narcotics and substance abuse, especially in central Kenya, is a disaster and is threatening to wipe out this community in the future.”
“We are going to be extremely ruthless with those who are selling toxic substances, and one of the targets we’re setting for our officers is to make sure that we go to the dens where these substances are being manufactured and sold,” he said.
He said under the framework, Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs, Deputy County Commissioners, and their assistants will lead the charge and reign in the production, distribution, and sale of illicit brews, as the government sets out to tackle the menace from its source.
“We must cut off the distribution channels and make sure that we destroy this cancer before it destroys our community.”
“For those who work hard, it must count for something, but for those who don’t work, so we must also communicate that to you,” he said.
Kindiki who also opened the office of the Deputy County Commissioner for Kipipiri sub-county restated the commitment to capacitate security personnel and help them deliver services to wananchi, during which he announced plans to avail more vehicles for police officers in the coming days.
Referencing the 13 percent reduction in crime recorded in the country under his leadership, the CS pledged to construct a police station in Gillete area, Njabini, and prescribed more engagement with his office to operationalize more administrative units.
He was accompanied by Nyandarua Governor Moses Badilisha, Women Representative Faith Gitau, and area MP Wanjiku Muhia.
