Loophole threat to Civil Service jobs in counties

By LUKE ANAMI

Civil servants’ jobs might be in danger due to the lack of laws to guide transition to the new county administration after elections next year.

Without the regulations, public servants are in danger of losing their jobs and neither the Public Service Commission (PSC) nor the new County Transition Authority (CTA) will be able to shield them.

Hiring of staff for counties will be the responsibility of the Counties Public Service Board (CPSB) operating under the governors, while the PSC will remain in charge of recruitment of personnel for the National Government. It is expected that staff in the current civil service who are working in various counties will be absorbed by the CBSB to ensure a smooth transition.

However, there is fresh uncertainty regarding this because there is no law to guide the process of transferring the employees to the county administration after the elections.

The Constitution puts Governors in charge of recruitment in the counties, but Parliament is supposed to enact legislation to guide the process and introduce safeguards.

As things stand, there is little to prevent Governors from stuffing the county administration with their cronies, relatives and political supporters.

Akin to the current impasse created by the courts over the posting of County Commissioners to County governments by President Mwai Kibaki both government officials and experts are worried that lack of a law to guide the smooth transition would see the loss of jobs and displacements that could interrupt the smooth functioning of County governments.

A workshop to discuss the proposed PSC Regulations held last week at the newly created Kenya School of Government resolved that a law be enacted to accommodate redeployment of civil servants.

“Looking at the regulations before us, there are no guidelines on how staff will be recruited. These regulations have not provided modes or guidelines on recruitment. The Public Service Commission (PSC) needs to come out with clear standards on how they will recruit staff,” said the Chief Executive Officer of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Grace Otieno.

The Constitution confers upon the Commission the power to hear and determine appeals from county governments’ public service, but does not grant the PSC the same powers over staffing of the new offices.

Under the new Public Service Commission Act 2012 signed into law by President Kibaki last week, County governments are vested with powers to manage their human resources; while the PSC will largely manage the human resource will focus on the national government.

Transfer of officers

The new law allows transfer of civil servants from the national to county levels in the event that the national government makes such a recommendation.

But there is the danger that governors and county assembly representatives might overrule such movements and put at risk the jobs of over 200,000 civil servants.

“There will be a national government and 47 county governments in this country after the elections. Civil Servants will be posted to work in the counties, but do we have the necessary protection from rogue governors who might want to do it their way?” asked Local Government Permanent Secretary Prof Karega Mutahi.

Prof Mutahi’s concern is based on the fact that staff from the current central government will be deployed to work for both national and county governments after the elections.

However, the new Constitution, which created the county government, also grants governors the powers to hire staff in the counties.

The fear is that some governors will ignore the regulations of the PSC by arguing that their powers are vested in the Constitution, which is superior to any other law created by an Act of Parliament.

“We want these regulations to accommodate the role of the PSC and that of the County Public Service Boards as our staff need to be protected,” Prof Mutahi whose Local Government Authority employees shall be transferred to county governments after elections.

A former commissioner with the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) also raised concerns about how the devolution process will be managed in the country.

“The biggest headache in Constitution is the devolved government and if Kenyans get it right, then everything else will fall in place,” said Mutakha Kangu who chaired the Devolved Government Task Force said.

He added: “That is why I called for the quick establishment of a Transition Authority to oversee the transfer of operations from a central system of government to both National and County government as soon as possible, but it was only put in place the other day.” Under the law, the PSC and County governments are expected to cooperate in areas of common interest including the new County Public Service.

“After the elections the civil service will no longer exist in the manner it is today. There will be both national and county civil servants. How are they going to relate and what are the reporting lines between the two?” posed Dr Adams Oloo of the University of Nairobi.

Despite the fears, PSC Commissioner Mary Gakuuri reassured civil servants they would not lose their jobs and that the newly created Transition Authority would tackle most of their fears.

“There will be more jobs under the new Constitution and therefore nobody should fear that he or she will lose their jobs. In the first year of operation, the County government will not be able to hire its own staff and those currently in the mainstream civil service will be there to offer the services as both governments take shape,” Ms Gakuuri said.

She, however, did not explain what the commission would do should governors decide to hire new staff in the counties.

Unions complain

President Kibaki has already appointed the CTA to facilitate and coordinate how Kenya moves to the new devolved system of government.

Mr Kinuthia Wamwangi (chairman) heads the team, while members are Angeline Awino Hongo, Safia Abdi, Mary Mwongeli Ndeto, Jacqueline Akhalemesi Mogeni, Erastus Nyaga Rweria, Simeon Pkatey Pkiyach, Bakari Garise Omar and Dabar Abdi Maalim.

At the meeting, the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS) took issue with the PSC for failing to recognise its role in collective bargaining as envisaged in the Bill of Rights.

“There is no mention of the word union in the PSC Act 2012 or in the regulations yet the Constitution recognize the role of CBA in salary negotiations,” said UKCS Secretary General Tom Odege.