Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has announced that the government is developing an application to monitor the productivity of all civil servants.

The platform will track arrival and departure times, leave status and real-time attendance, says the minister, in order to boost efficiency, accountability and transparency across all government offices.

“We must raise our standards to serve the people better,” Ruku told staff at the Eastern Region headquarters in Embu Town on Monday. ‘Lateness and laxity will no longer be tolerated in government offices.’

Ruku said the app, which he described as a ‘game changer’ for tackling absenteeism and monitoring work output, will be available by the end of October.

Employee monitoring applications are common in private organisations and are used to track work hours, computer activity and, in some cases, location.

Platforms such as those from U.S. software makers Hubstaff and Teramind offer time tracking, productivity analysis and reporting to help businesses manage remote teams, enforce compliance in sectors such as finance and healthcare, and identify workflow inefficiencies.

“People in the private sector understand that success requires hard work. Public servants must match that energy if we are serious about national transformation,” Ruku said.

During his visit on Monday, he pointed out disparities in staff punctuality, noting that while staff at Embu’s Huduma Centre and the Immigration Department arrived early, their counterparts at the Lands Department did not.

“Only one member of staff and a cleaner were present at the Lands Office by 8am Such negligence cannot be condoned. Public officers must take responsibility,” said Ruku.

Some late-arriving staff were locked out of their offices, and the CS said that similar disciplinary measures would continue until full compliance was achieved.