Prime Cabinet Secretary Office
The Office of the Prime Secretary (OPCS) mandate and functions are enunciated in Executive Order No.1 of January 2023, in which the critical role of the OPCS is to ensure effective functioning of the government through coordination and efficient delivery of public services through supervision. The functions in the Executive Order are;
i) Assisting the President and the Deputy President in the coordination and supervision of Government Ministries and State Departments;
ii) In liaison with the Ministry responsible for Interior and National Administration, oversee the implementation of National Government policies, programmes and projects;
iii) Chair and coordinate National legislative agenda across all ministries and state corporations in consultation with and for transmission to the Party/Coalition Leaders in Parliament;
iv) Chair the Principle Secretaries Committees and supervise the technical monitoring and evaluation of Government policies, programmes and projects;
v) Perform any other function as may be assigned by the President.
The OPCS is situated within the Presidency that also comprises the Executive Office of the President and the Office of the Deputy President.
The Office is charged with institutionalizing principles of the ‘Whole-of-Government (WoG)’ and ‘Open-Government (OG)’ approaches in Government work places and in delivery of public services. WoG and OG principles aim to create and improve synergies within and among MDAs towards breaking existing silos, and Government gaining public confidence and trust.
The Executive Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary is further backed by the following strategic offices;
The Chief of Staff (COS) is responsible for providing overall administrative coordination and support to the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary (OPCS) in the implementation of its mandate.
Apart from daily coordination and management of the overall daily operations of the Executive Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary (EOPCS), as the Accounting Officer in the EOPCS, the COS manages the staff; information communication; and Protocols; facilitates PCS liaison within the Presidency and with MDAs.
The cross-cutting and overarching mandate of the OPCS and embedment within the Presidency required a secretariat for digesting, distilling and synthesing information, documents and reports from across MDAs for strategic policy, programmes and projects implementation communication to the public. Hence the establishment of the Office of Government Strategic Communications (StratCom).
The Office of Secretary, Government Strategic Communications (StratCom) advises, consolidates and harmonises government communication synergy for internal government and public consumption. Consequently, StratCom functions are to;
a) Manage OPCS strategic communication.
b) Supervise government strategic communication of policy, articulation and dissemination in consultation with the Presidency.
c) Oversee the development of a strategic communication template for whole-government policy dissemination.
d) Provide oversight and support to MDAs in development and implementation of sectoral strategic communication of policy outlays.
e) Guide consistent policy information flow within the OPCS, between OPCS and MDAs; and between and within MDAs.
f) Institute Strategic Communication capacity building for MDAs staff in Public Communication function.
g) Assist the OPCS in liaison with National Treasury, coordinate support from development partners relevant in the development of training, monitoring and evaluation mechanism(s) of strategic communication practices in MDAs.
h) Create a framework for acquisition of External Expert Consultants required to drive the Government’s Agenda through Strategic Communication of policy.
i) Any other duties as may be assigned by the Prime Cabinet Secretary.
Further, StratCom is mandated to mitigate public ambivalence, scepticism and cynicism towards government policy and public service delivery by;
a) Constituting a comprehensive government strategic communications policy.
b) Ensuring Government Strategic Communication is structured through template(s) for government communication that ensure public access to policy, programmes and projects processes and their implementation.
c) Existing government communication platforms are predicated on information gathering and reportage of events, but hardly contain policy and articulation.
d) Strategic Communication capacity-building for government communications officers.
To achieve these, StratCom coordinates Strategic Communications across MDAs, and carries out communication research including monitoring and evaluation public perception of Government and training in Strategic Communications. This is then channelled out through stakeholder Programs, Outreach and Dissemination to MDAs and the public. Information Management for Office is by the ICT unit.
STRATCOM AND WOG, OG
Strategic Communications seeks to interconnect government decision-making with public anticipation and expectations by messaging government performance and delivery of services; researching on public perceptions to inform policy formulation and articulation; and evaluation public participation feedback.
Order to prosecute the functions of StratCom, the public service bureaucracy must be compliant with WoG and OG principles. StratCom in liaison with other units in the OPCS, carries out sensitization activities that inculcates of WoG and OG as a work ethic culture and measurable output of MDAs.
The Office of Advisory Services has three components;
- Policy Coordination, Strategy - responsible for evaluating, reporting and advising the PCS on policy coordination and strategy matters relating to the coordination, supervision and performance of Government and emerging policy issues.
- Economic Affairs - responsible for independent review, analysis and advice PCS on economic and planning matters.
- The Legal Affairs - responsible for evaluating, reporting and advising the PCS on legal matters relating to the coordination, supervision and performance of Government, and emerging policy issues.
NGCS is established by Executive Order No. 2 of 2023. The Secretariat shall be the principal technical coordination organ. The Secretariat shall be responsible for facilitating effective coordination, oversight, and implementation of policies, projects, and programs across all relevant Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.