Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has emphasized the importance of training police officers in Customer Service Excellence as part of ongoing efforts to transform the National Police Service (NPS).
On Thursday, December 5, 2024, Kanja was briefed on the rollout plan for the Customer Service Excellence Program at the Kenya School of Government (KSG) in Lower Kabete.
He highlighted that this training is crucial to his vision of transforming police stations across Kenya into centers of excellence for police operations and public service delivery.
Kanja acknowledged that the lack of training on how to effectively engage with the public has negatively impacted the service, leading to poor customer relations.
“How we relate with the public determines a lot in the results we get.
That is why we need this training to help us in many ways,” said Kanja.
The Director General of KSG, Prof. Nura Mohamed, and Huduma Center CEO Benjamin Chilumo, who were present during the session, reassured Kanja of their commitment to collaborating with the police to enhance the NPS’s capacity in customer service.
Kanja was accompanied by the Deputy Inspector General of Administration Police, Gilbert Masengeli, Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin, NPS Accounting Officer Bernice Lemedeket, and several NPS Directors.
The NPS, along with the Kenya Prisons Service and National Youth Service, is currently rolling out several reforms aimed at improving overall service delivery.
President William Ruto recently announced that the government will require Sh106 billion to implement these reforms within the services.
Ruto explained that the funds will address key challenges, including career progression, digitization of records (such as police OBs), and the purchase of new equipment.
A portion of the funds, Sh22 billion, will be allocated to improving compensation packages for officers, while Sh37 billion will go toward upgrading hardware and welfare reforms.
Sh45 billion will support the modernization of the services.
“We appreciate the considerable financial implications of the full implementation of the changes prescribed by the Maraga task force.
It is estimated that it will cost Sh106 billion to fully actualize these recommendations,” Ruto said.
In addition, Ruto revealed that the government has procured 1,000 e-vehicles for police officers to improve e-mobility across the country.
Plans are also in place to build 32,000 houses for security officers, acknowledging that many law enforcement officers live in poor conditions.
“Some of our officers live in houses that are not different from the prisons themselves. That cannot be the case.
That’s why we extended the housing program to include institutional houses for our military, police, NYS, and prisons,” he remarked.
These reforms were proposed by a task force led by former Chief Justice David Maraga.
Ruto made these remarks during the launch of the Strategic Framework for the Implementation of Reforms in the Services.
This framework outlines a coordinated and strategic approach to implement reform priorities, ensuring coherence among the involved reform institutions.
The task force, appointed by Ruto on December 21, 2022, was tasked with identifying legal, policy, administrative, and operational constraints hindering effective service delivery.
It also reviewed the terms and conditions of service for the NPS, Kenya Prisons Service, and National Youth Service, offering recommendations for improvement.
The final report was submitted to Ruto on November 4, 2023.
A National Steering Committee, chaired by Principal Secretary of Internal Security and National Administration Dr. Raymond Omollo, was gazetted on September 13, 2024, to develop an Implementation Framework to guide the reform process.
A national inter-agency team, including senior officials from the Ministry of Public Service, the National Treasury, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the National Police Service Commission (NPSC), and other agencies, has begun working on implementing the reforms.
The committee started by addressing the 200 recommendations outlined in the final report.
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