Public Service and Human Capital Development Principal Secretary Dr Jane Imbunya has called on public institutions to ensure they improve on the quality of service Kenyans get when seeking government services.

Speaking during the official opening of National Customer Service Week in Nairobi, Dr Imbunya urged government officers interacting with citizens to go the extra mile in delivering the services within the law.

“Customer service excellence is not extra favour to Kenyans, it is part of the standard they are entitled to,” said Imbunya.

She noted that public institutions must be committed to serving the public as the government strives to transform public service.

“This week’s exhibition and citizen engagement should not only showcase reforms and innovations, they should help us listen. Technology and policy matter most but must be not the only issue that we serve on our desk,” she stated.

In a bid to enhance service delivery and bring services closer to the citizens, the government has been making heavy investments to establish Huduma centres across the country and has also digitized majority of the services.

According to Huduma Centre Secretariat Benjamin Chilumo, the centres currently offer 171 physical services and over 25,000 E-Citizen services provided by 54 ministries, departments and agences and at least 35 county governments.

“Over the last financial year, we have served over 15 million customers and we recorded customer satisfaction index of 83%,”

Huduma Centre has also availed 64 Huduma Mashinani to extend services closer to communties facing challenges of getting to the centres.

“Currently, we have 13 new Huduma centres that are ready to be operationalized while 21 other Huduma centres are under construction. Our ultimate ambition is to establish huduma centres in 290 constituencies in line with Vision 2030 aspirations of bringing government services closer to every citizen,” he added.

Speaking during the event, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation Brand Manager (KBC) Jackline Aseka urged institutions to leverage the corporation’s wide reach to target customers whenever they are riding on its television, radio and digital platforms which command large following.

“KBC is the way to go. For the agencies that are here, your services can reach your customers through KBC. Don’t shy away from advertising through KBC, reach out to us,” she added.