2012 Public Service Day at KICC

The Public Service Day was marked on Monday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC). The event coincided with the tenth anniversary of United Nations Public Service Day that was celebrated at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Public Service minister Dalmas Otieno led the Civil service in the country to mark the day. In his speech, he urged the various ministries to allocate resources for promoting innovation.

The highlights for the event were the various awards given to innovations showcased. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in partnership with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) was awarded the innovation award for their Cheque Truncation System (CTS) and Credit Information Sharing (CTS) initiative.  

Another innovation that was applauded was Kenya Defense Forces’ outdoor diesel cooker unit, which uses only 40 litres to cook for 300 people in a week. The diesel powered field kitchen is already being used in Somalia to prepare meals for the forces while battling the Al Shaabab militia.  

In the medical category, Unipron’s SMUGEL was honoured for its human lubricating gel used to prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

In the 2012 United Nations Public Services Awards, Kenya’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation was the second place winner in the promoting Gender-responsive Delivery of Public Services category. The ministry was honoured for its Gender integration in the water sector initiative.