Introduction of job evaluations long overdue

For a long time, a government job was viewed as the most secure form of employment where a worker could do very little but still remain on the payroll. It was common for senior public servants to hang their coats onto their seats to indicate they had reported to work and step out for the entire day; they were in essence absent from duty. Rather than work for the public, employees would be engaged in all sorts of private business ventures at the expense of the public, leading to gaping inefficiencies in service delivery. Those who required government services would suffer untold delays for mundane processes.

Many previous attempts at motivating civil servants to provide better services were unsuccessful. Performance contracting — where the actual work done by employees is measured — was introduced amid great resistance from workers. Meanwhile, taxpayers continued to shoulder the huge wage bill burden with very little benefits. With the rising recurrent expenditure, funds for development projects diminished significantly.

The rising wage bill became more pronounced when the 2010 Constitution came into effect after the 2013 General Election, and operational functions of the national government was devolved to the new county units.

The 47 county governments not only hired thousands of new public servants, but also absorbed a huge chunk of former government officers and municipal workers. The public wage bill now threatens to derail the nation’s development.

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) recent unveiling of an effective performance management system is therefore laudable, given its fierce resistance by the political class and civil servants. The new system will ensure that all work done by public servants is measured, where effort will be rewarded and tardiness noted for possible action. The SRC also proposes do away with the duplication of jobs, where a role that can be played by one individual has been given to several people. This will almost certainly mean job cuts.

The government must be ready to boldly implement this new structure.

SRC has also conducted a job evaluation exercise and has determined which allowances will have to be reviewed or scrapped altogether in the national and county governments.

It is to be expected that the recommendations will meet stiff opposition from slackers and status quo adherents in the system. That is why the SRC management system requires our unequivocal support.