Governors brace for showdown over recruitment of county staff

By JACKSON OKOTH

A section of Governors. The County chiefs say setting up of county boards effectively ends the mandate of TA to redeploy, transfer and second staff.

The Council of Governors has bitterly opposed the directive  stopping recruitment of new staff and is renewing the push for the Transition Authority (TA) to be disbanded.

In an advert last Friday, the council insisted that once the County Public Service Board has been established, it has the power to make all appointments.

“This effectively ends the mandate of the authority to redeploy, transfer and second staff,” said Isaac Ruto, chairman of the Council of Governors. He said Section 37 of the Transition to Devolved Government Act states that the authority shall be wound up three years after the first general election.

The Council cites section 138(5) of the County Government Act which states that an officer who was seconded and not appointed shall be released by the county government to the national government.

On the other hand, TA has directed that no recruitment should be done for those positions already having seconded staff and that any additional human resource requirements are directed to the national government. In its statement, the Council of Governors acknowledged the need to undertake a comprehensive workload analysis and a staff rationalisation programme. “The County Public Service Boards have just been set up and most are embarking on such a programme, which is their statutory mandate,” said Ruto. The council is pushing for staff recruitment matters to be addressed by the Intergovernmental relations meeting slated for January 8, 2014.

The Governors insist that seconded staff is free to apply for advertised positions given their experiences and attributes.

The headbutting between TA and the governors is coming at a time when there has been a deluge of job advertisements in counties, all looking for fresh recruits.

civil service jobs

The situation is made worse as tension builds between some the counties and the national government as the said devolved units advertise civil service jobs that are already occupied.

The latest spat between the devolved units and TA is also happening when accusations of extravagance at the counties, is rearing its ugly head. For instance, a monthly bulletin - the Indicators on Budget and Economy August 2013 - prepared by the Parliamentary Budget Office, indicates that the months of June to July brought to the fore challenges facing the operations of the devolved system of government.

It cites the county budget making process in particular as marred with controversy amidst allegations of extravagance in county expenditure.

 The County Allocation of Revenue Bill was signed into law, transferring Sh210 billion to be shared among the counties based on the revenue allocation formula approved by Parliament.