New Government scheme of service for chiefs provides career growth

The Government has come up with a new scheme of service for chiefs and their assistants.

The new scheme opens the way for their promotion to higher positions within the national government's administration structure.

Under the scheme, chiefs and their assistants can now rise to other positions starting from assistant county commissioners (previously known as district officers or DOs), deputy county commissioners, county commissioners all the way to regional co-ordinators (previously known as provincial commissioners.

Ministry of Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho made public the new scheme of service last week in his office when he received an assistant chief, Caroline Olusala, of Namunyiri sub-location, Kakamega County.

The assistant chief was in Nairobi for the first time in her life, on a trip sponsored by Dr Kibicho.

During the discussions with the PS, it emerged the assistant chief had been on the same job group since her employment eight years ago.

This prompted the PS to direct the Ministry's Human Resources department to take immediate action and rectify the situation.

"It is not fair or right for an officer to stay on the same job group for eight years. It is very demoralising and should never be allowed to happen," said Kibicho.

The PS said the Government recognises the important role chiefs and their assistants play in the country and as such, the ministry had come up with a new scheme of service to motivate them.

"Under the new scheme of service, the sky is the limit for chiefs and their assistants. A chief can rise to take any position in the national government administration structure so long as they have the relevant qualifications. So the onus is on chiefs and their assistants to enrol for further education," Kibicho said.

Under the previous scheme of service, chiefs and their assistants could only rise up to the level of senior chief but not beyond.

Ms Olusala came about when the PS, during his official tour of Western region, asked who had never been to Nairobi.

She raised her hand among the more than 400 chiefs, assistant chiefs, assistant commissioners and county commissioners.

The assistant chief had come to Nairobi together with her husband and their four children who too were visiting the capital city for the first time in their lives.