Crisis looms as Transition Authority orders counties to stop recruiting new staff

By JACKSON OKOTH

NAIROBI, KENYA: A showdown looms between the Transition Authority (TA) and county governments over recruitment of staff for the devolved units.

This follows a directive by TA that all recruitment done outside the Public Service Commission (PSC) by the various county public service and county assembly boards, all be suspended.

At risk of going down the drain are huge financial resources used by county governments to conduct interviews and recruit new staff.

In the last couple of months, nearly all county governments have spent huge resources to run advertisements seeking for all cadres of staff.

“We have already shortlisted candidates for interviews next year, including seconded staff and those who worked in the previous administrations. A move to stop the process will be a complete waste of resources,” said Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka.

Public service

A number of county governments have shortlisted candidates for positions in their public service boards and could soon begin interviews.

Interestingly, TA is advising county governments to stop any recruitment pending the Government’s staff rationalisation programme, which is yet to start three years after the Constitution was passed.

“The authority recommends that county governments should utilise the existing seconded staff in the counties,” said TA chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi.

In a lengthy advisory issued yesterday, TA states that the counties which require additional staff especially in administrative support services such as accounting, human resource, supply chain, planning and budgeting to seek for assistance from the Ministry of Devolution and Planning for deployment of such personnel.

The law requires TA to ensure smooth transfer of power, functions and resources, including human resources.

This directive from TA means that county governments cannot advertise or appoint other persons when seconded staff is occupying the position.

“While the TA is within its mandate in issuing the advisory on new recruitment, Article 235 of the Constitution of Kenya allows county governments to do what they are doing. The question is why the National Government failed to downsize way back in 2010 and had to wait until now to do it,” said Kariithi Murimi, a policy expert with Institute of Certified Public Accounts of Kenya (ICPAK).

When the Government cut down its bureaucracy from 42 ministries to the present 18, there is excess staff that is still on the payroll and has yet to be off-loaded.

“We are advising both levels of government to suspend recruitment of new staff from outside the public service until this staff rationalisation exercise is complete and existing public officers deployed accordingly,” said Wamwangi.

The exercise will include an assessment of all capacity and skills needs for all devolved units and determination of those staff and functions to be retained, transferred, merged, abolished, contracted or privatised.

A high level inter-agency task force comprising the Public Service Commission, Commission on Implementation of the Constitution, Council of Governors, Attorney General, Ministry of Devolution and Planning, Treasury and Pensions Department has been formed to work on modalities of transferring staff from national to county governments.

Another team made up of the same agencies as well as LAPTRUST and LAPFUND, is working on modalities of establishing a county pension scheme.

“The Transition Authority has not been forceful in articulating how devolution should work and has instead been handling governors with kid gloves. What it needs to do is perhaps get such agencies as the Commission on Implementation of the Constitution to give it some legal teeth,” said Kithinji Kiragu, a public sector management specialist.

As matters stand, experts are warming of fiscal crisis should county governments be allowed to recruit its own staff outside the existing pool of government workers.

While county governments have been recruiting staff of the low cadre such as drivers, messengers and other support staff, it is being told to freeze recruitment of professional staff until the National Government completes its rationalisation programme.

Excess workers

“There is no point for the National Government to sack excess workers before county governments can be allowed to recruit the same people. It would instead be in the national interest to second all excess staff to the county government. Those who fail to meet performance targets here can then be left to go,” said Kiragu.

Mr Patrick Mobegi who is the Nyamira branch secretary, County Government Workers Union of Kenya said: “Counties are getting everything on recruitment wrong. Local authority staff are legal government employees whose terms and conditions cannot be changed. How do you apply for a job and you are already employed?”

In Nyamira for instance, all TA seconded staff have been ordered back to the National Government. There are new office holders.

Technically, county governments are being stopped from fresh recruitment until those seconded to the devolved units are utilised. But governors insist in doing their own recruitment, to get rid of ghost workers and incompetent staff in the previous structures.