STATEMENT BY HON. WYCLIFFE AMBETSA OPARANYA, E.G.H, MP, MINISTER OF STATE FOR PLANNING, NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND VISION 2030, ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICAL AWARD OF THE ISO QMS 9001:2008 CERTIFICATION TO THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND THE KENYA INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS (KIPPRA), AT THE KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE AT 10.00 AM ON 2 nd FEBRUARY 2011

The RT. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, E.G.H., Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya

The Assistant Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, Hon. Peter Kenneth, MP

Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, Mr. Francis Muthaura

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, Dr. Edward Sambili

Ladies and Gentlemen

Let me also take this opportunity to welcome all of you to this occasion of celebrating the ISO Quality Management System 9001:2008 certification achievement by the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 and the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA). The process of ISO certification has become a widespread practice as organizations increasingly work to conform to the international standards. For both the Ministry of Planning and KIPPRA, ISO 9001:2008 QMS will position us to improve service delivery to the public and also compete with the best internationally. The standards place strong emphasis on process control and continuous improvement which are some of the key characteristics that an organization must possess to be recognized as a pace setter in product and service delivery.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Ministry of Planning is mandated to provide leadership in policy formulation and coordinate implementation of the Kenya Vision 2030. In order to meet this goal and be a role model to others, the Ministry of Planning has to adopt ISO QMS standards. With this ISO 9001:2008 certification, the Ministry will be in position to dispense its mandate better and in a more transparent and accountable manner.

Ladies and Gentlemen: With the improved access to information, the public has become more aware of the services they not only expect but deserve from the government. More significantly, Kenyans are now able to tell when the services offered are below satisfactory and therefore have become more demanding and particular on services they pay for. Citizens are able to compare government services with the best practices across the world. Therefore, to satisfy the public’s expectation of service delivery, government agencies are now required to conform to international quality management systems in order to offer quality services to the public and this is not an exception to the Ministry of Planning and KIPPRA.

The fact that we have successfully undergone through ISO 9001:2008 QMS certification processes, which we are celebrating today, is a clear testimony of our commitment to offering services which meet international standards. I know the terrain towards this certification has not been easy for both the Ministry of Planning and KIPPRA, but we have made it and I want to say congratulations to you all for your tireless efforts. We must however always remember that we have the public outside there who expect that the management system we have adopted has changed our operations for the better.

Today is therefore a great day for both the Ministry of Planning and the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) as the two celebrate this achievement. We want to thank our guests and in particular the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister for accepting to join us in this celebration and hand over the certificate to the Ministry of Planning and KIPPRA. Thank very much, Your Excellency.

Today as we gather here to celebrate, I am proud to announce that there is no operational area within the scope of certification in the Ministry and KIPPRA that operates outside the documented procedures under the ISO QMS standard. In my office, for example, there are 10 procedures that guide my actions in discharging my duties to deliver the Ministry’s mandate. And the most important thing is that the management system has closely linked operations across operational areas and therefore, there can be no passing of the buck because systems are talking to each other ensuring effectiveness, timeliness, transparency and accountability at every stage of action. This is the main benefit of ISO Quality Management System.

Ladies and Gentlemen: As I have noted before, it was not a smooth sail for both the Ministry and KIPPRA to reach where we are now. It is equally going to be challenging to sustain the new status that we have just earned ourselves. The ISO management system QMS is like racing. We can consider having won one race but we must not forget to practice to keep fit for the next race. You know what happened to Usain Bolt the Jamaican fastest sprinter when he met Tyson Gay of the United States in the 100 meters finals race. While admitting defeat, Bolt said he wasn’t prepared for the race while Gay was in very good shape for the race. I urge you to remain in very good ISO QMS shape for there are several surveillance audits coming. Let us keep the new status at whatever cost.

Ladies and Gentlemen: In conclusion, let me point out that ISO 9001:2008 QMS is part of the wider Public Service Reforms geared towards bet­ter service deliv­ery to the public. Therefore, the conferment of the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Sys­tem (QMS) to the Ministry and its subsequent launch today marks the beginning of a new era for the Ministry and its history of service delivery. Indeed this is testimony of the Ministry’s commitment to offer better and quality services to the public. It is a departure from business as usual for the Ministry to service delivery with distinction.

As a Minis­try, we are very happy and proud to usher in this new era and we commit to steadfast work towards sustaining it through con­tinuous improvement.

With those remarks, it is now my pleasure to invite the Prime Minister to handover the certificates to both the Ministry of Planning and KIPPRA the ISO QMS 9001:2008 Certificate and then later to give his address.

Welcome Your Excellency.