In July last year, the government directed all Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) to reduce their advisory teams by half, effective immediately. 

In a July 8, 2024, letter, Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei said each CS was required to retain only one adviser, down from the previous two.  

The advice followed weeks of unrest by the so-called Generation Z against the 2024 Finance Bill as part of a government undertaking to reduce the cost of administering public affairs. 

The idea of CSs having an officer designated as an adviser is, for seasoned civil servants, wholly new. 

These cadres of staff were virtually unknown under the parliamentary system of government. They were unknown throughout the 24 years of President Daniel Arap Moi’s rule.

It was during President Uhuru Kenyatta, under the presidential system, that the adviser phenomenon was introduced.  

Perhaps the only time the country came close to having advisers was in 1999. That year, President Moi appointed Dr Richard Leakey to head the civil service, among other notable figures from outside the government.

Media reports indicated that Moi made the decision under the behest of the World Bank in a bid to improve government performance. 

But then, the team of experts, led by Leaky, came in at the policymaking echelons of the Executive branch of the government.

Most of them had sterling careers in the private sector and in international institutions. The country embraced them.  

Except for this, ministers throughout post-colonial governments did not have any cadre of staff outside the civil service structure with the mandate to advise the minister. 

Who was discharging this advisory role throughout this period? Younger Kenyans who came of age yesterday may ask.

The answer is that the civil service, headed by the permanent secretary, or principal secretaries, as they are called today, had the mandate to advise the minister. 

The civil service is composed of personnel with varying expertise, training and experience, and does three things.

It supports the government in developing and implementing ministers’ policies and priorities.

It also ensures that once the policies and priorities have been adopted by the government, they are executed efficiently and effectively. 

Generally, therefore, the civil service, led by the principal secretary, advises on policy and supports CSs.

The principal secretaries in various State Departments have below them a reservoir of highly educated, trained and experienced staff.  

The staff helps identify and acknowledge issues and challenges that ought to be addressed to better serve the government of the day in generating or creating policy solutions for discussions at the Cabinet level.  

The CS has only a small fraction of civil servants who actually work in policy roles and support. They are directors of various directorates.

They, in turn, have staff that work under them – and are all linked to the delivery points of the services the government renders to citizens. 

Career civil servants work the systems and deal with the public. They are consequently best placed to say what will or won’t work. Ignore them at your peril.   

Advisers are important. They are more useful to the President and perhaps the Deputy President. But they should be advisers who have had practical experience with the civil service.  

The writer is a Communication Consultant