'Let's not make peace with mediocrity': Mudavadi challenges public service culture

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has called for a cultural shift in the public service, urging leaders and citizens to reject mediocrity, low productivity and underperformance in service delivery.

Speaking when he joined President William Ruto at the National Productivity and Competitiveness Conference 2026 and the 2024/2025 Performance and Productivity Awards at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi, Mudavadi said the government is committed to deepening reforms aimed at strengthening accountability, efficiency and results in the public service.

Mudavadi challenged Kenyans to critically examine the culture of performance in the public sector, warning against normalising low productivity and rewarding underperformance.

“Let us not make peace with mediocrity,” he said. “That is a loaded statement. The question is, have we as Kenyans made peace with laziness? Have we made peace with low productivity? Have we been rewarding non-performers? So what culture have we built?”

He said the objective of the reforms is to ensure that citizens can clearly understand and interrogate the performance of the public service at all levels.

“What we hope to achieve with this is a situation where the public makes sense of the performance of the entire public service,” said Mudavadi, who is also the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS.

Mudavadi further questioned perceptions around promotions in the public service, insisting that advancement must be based on merit and demonstrated performance.

“We must break away from the notion that is sometimes carried that a promotion is parachuted to a particular individual. Is that promotion truly earned?” posed Mudavadi.

The Prime CS said performance contracting remains a key reform tool in strengthening accountability, noting that government is now moving to entrench it in law alongside productivity management.

He disclosed that a Bill to give legal backing to performance contracting is ready and will soon be tabled in Parliament, following prolonged public participation.

“Your Excellency, one of the issues that we will do towards the end is to present the results of performance contracting that are due,” he said.

“I am a little bit concerned and nervous on this because we had talked of bringing legislation to entrench and give legal foundation to performance contracting. Our process of public participation has taken forever.”

Mudavadi said the proposed legislation will strengthen accountability by obligating all public institutions to deliver on measurable targets.

“This law is now about ready to go to Parliament,” he said.

“The next thing I hope, Mr President, we bring to you will not just be the results of performance contracting, but the legal instruments that will entrench performance contracting and productivity.”

He emphasized that the reforms are designed to move the public service to a higher level where performance is legally enforced and consistently measured.

“It is one law that will be an instrument that obligates all of us to do what is right for the Kenyan people and to do what is right for our country,” said Mudavadi.

The event brought together senior leaders from the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature, county governments, constitutional commissions, state corporations, development partners and other stakeholders.

President William Ruto presided over the ceremony, where top-performing public institutions were awarded for excellence in performance, productivity and wage bill management for the 2024/2025 financial year.