Crisis looms as thousands of public servants set to retire

Public Service CS Sicily Kariuki at her Harambee House office on May 11. She launched a report yesterday which shows over half of civil servants are approaching retirement. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

The country's public service sector is in a crisis as more than half its workforce is almost 50 years old.

This means the number of workers retiring in the next few years will rise significantly, with major effects on the public pension bill and skills base.

A human resource audit the Government carried out in 2014-2015 shows more than 36,074 members of staff in the Public Service Commission (PSC), who account for over half of the country's workforce in national government ministries and state departments, are over 46 years old.

All civil servants stand at 69,445, according to information in the Human Resource Planning and Succession Management Strategy for Public Service launched yesterday.

County level

The report shows about 31 per cent of staff at both national and county level are between 50 and 59 years old.

Current estimates indicate the annual bill for paying retirees is about Sh55 billion and the National Treasury has projected the total expenditure to rise to Sh66 billion by the end of 2018. This amount equals the entire healthcare budget for the country.

"At least 35 per cent of staff will be leaving the service in the next five years," reads the policy document, officially launched by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi.

"The most affected are staff in senior management levels and technical cadres with critical skills and competencies," explains the HR report, conducted in the two levels of government under the auspices of Capacity Assessment and Rationalisation of the Public Service (Carps) programme.

Policy decision

By 2009, the retirement package burden was already too heavy for the Government, prompting a policy decision to raise the minimum age for leaving service from 55 to 60.

It was anticipated the five-year increase would be sufficient for the State to set up a contributory scheme for its workers and that any new retirees would be paid from the kitty rather than from taxes.

 

Trade unions representing civil servants have bitterly fought the formation of the contributory scheme, which demands that a portion of a member's salary is directed to savings. This has been misinterpreted as a pay cut.

According to the report, which was among three other strategic documents made public by the CS, high turn-over in key cadres and shortage of critical skills and competencies have compromised service delivery.

Ms Kariuki, who was accompanied by PSC chairperson Margaret Kobia and Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairperson Sarah Serem, said the Government would continue to develop strategies geared towards improving performance.

"An efficient, motivated and well-trained public service is a prerequisite for attainment of Vision 2030 and critical in supporting Government's commitment to transforming the country," said the CS.

This came as the Government appeared unable to retain young professionals, who have been exiting civil service for greener pastures even before reaching 40.

Sectors that have registered a high number of resignations include health, State Law Office, ICT and economics.

"Some of the cases of resignations have been attributed to low remuneration, stagnation, lack of enabling work environment and slow career advancement," said the report.

The massive exits mean a sharp rise in the collective pension expenses incurred in paying the lump-sum and the subsequent monthly upkeep, which will deplete Government coffers as more money goes to recurrent expenditure instead of development.