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Kenya’s public sector is undergoing a radical shift that will hit home for thousands of civil servants. The Public Service Commission (PSC) has declared that promotions across all government departments will no longer be business as usual. From now on, performance will be the sole ticket to upward mobility, cutting off the long-entrenched path of favoritism and unmerited advancement.
This move, announced on July 21 during a consultative meeting between PSC Commissioner Francis Meja and officials from the State Department of Public Health, signals a deep institutional reset aimed at boosting productivity, restoring professionalism, and cleaning up an inefficient bureaucracy that has long been plagued by internal decay.
At the core of the PSC’s overhaul is the elimination of arbitrary promotions. Officers will no longer ascend to senior roles based on connections, tenure, or political proximity. Instead, advancement will now depend entirely on tangible achievements and regular performance appraisals.
“We have witnessed instances where officers are promoted without any clear evidence of performance or competency, and this has undermined the efficiency of the public service,” Commissioner Meja said firmly.
From now on, the commission has instructed that no promotions will be granted without quarterly evaluations. Supervisors across ministries, parastatals, and county departments are being tasked with enforcing the new regime—setting clear targets, measuring outputs, and reporting consistently.
The directive applies to a wide range of workers overseen by the PSC. These include civil servants within the national government, county employees, public officers in state agencies, local authorities, and even emergency service personnel. In short, if you’re on the government payroll, your promotion chances now rest squarely on how well you perform—not who you know.
Ministry supervisors are also under pressure to ensure transparency. They are expected to enforce appraisal mechanisms, identify gaps, and initiate training where needed to help staff meet performance benchmarks
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For decades, Kenya’s public service has struggled with a bloated workforce riddled with inefficiencies. While a few officers carry the weight, many have enjoyed promotions without ever proving their capability. The new policy aims to change that culture and restore a sense of meritocracy.
According to Meja, this change is not only about accountability—it’s about restoring the dignity and effectiveness of public service. “It’s time that competency, not politics or longevity, determined leadership,” he stated.
Just days before this announcement, Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua revealed plans to introduce productivity-based incentives within government institutions. The goal is to recognize and reward civil servants who hit their targets and go above and beyond in their service delivery.
“We’re exploring new ways to motivate public officers. A worker who performs should feel seen, valued, and compensated accordingly,” said Mutua, signaling a wider government strategy to make performance the backbone of public administration.
Mary Muthoni, the Public Health Principal Secretary, echoed these sentiments by highlighting the need for all departments to address long-standing human resource challenges. She emphasized that cross-ministry collaboration is essential to making this new performance model stick and preventing it from becoming another paper policy.
The PSC, backed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and the Ministry of Labour, appears poised to enforce this overhaul—not just with words, but with real structural shifts in how public employees are hired, assessed, promoted, and rewarded.
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