Restore public trust

The declining public trust is a major challenge that the authorities need to comprehensively address in order to restore confidence in institutions for the country’s well-being.

Maintaining public trust is the foundation of any stable society, as it enables civil compliance, economic stability, and effective governance. When confidence in public institutions is eroded, this can lead to social divisions and paralysis.

Concerned about the declining public trust, the country is seeking ways to fix the problem. One is the hope that a trust summit held in Nairobi will help yield results, but as Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi pointed out, it must deliver more than speeches and mere promises. And as he rightly put it, the growing number of meetings and policy discussions on trust risk achieving little if they are not translated into changes the people can see and experience.

According to Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, regulators play a critical role in protecting citizens by ensuring that markets operate fairly, risks are managed, and the lawbreakers are punished. As Chief Justice Martha Koome succinctly put it, a trust deficit is also felt when justice is delayed, and families can’t afford legal representation.

The government has, therefore, asked the regulatory authorities to strengthen accountability, enforce professional standards and ensure fairness in the provision of essential services. This is part of the efforts required to rebuild public trust in institutions. This can be done by, for example, making government spending, policy decisions and performance easily accessible to the public. It must confront policy failures or errors directly and honestly, rather than deflecting or obscuring the facts.

There is a need to strengthen neutral, third-party bodies to investigate institutional misconduct without any political interference. The authorities should enforce strict legal and professional penalties for breaches of public trust, regardless of an individual’s rank or status.

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