MCAs take on county board over jobs

By JOSEPH MUCHIRI

Embu, Kenya: A row pitting Members of the Embu County Assembly and the  Public Service Board over county jobs has escalated after some members vowed to seek legal redress.

The wrangle follows advertisement of 57 positions in the Assembly with the Speaker Justus Mate yesterday accusing some MCAs of demanding two slots to give to people in their wards.

He said this would be unfair to the over 3,000 people who applied for the jobs.

“Some MCAs who are former councillors made dangerous demands that each member can be allocated two positions to give to their wards, while the rest of the positions be awarded competitively. That is criminal,” said Mate.

The Speaker said the board, which he chairs, is under siege with threats from some MCAs to remove the minority and majority leaders from the board. He said they would ensure the process is fair than risk facing criminal charges.

 “We submitted applicants’ names to directorate of personnel management. We expect to get a report on those shortlisted on Thursday, then interviews can proceed and have successful applicants start work on September 1. We have written to the National Assembly to provide competent people to form an interview panel on legislative issues so that the process is fair,” he noted.

Deputy Speaker Ibrahim Swaleh and Chairman of Delegated County Legislative Issues Steve Simba however accused the board of not conducting the recruitment  transparently.

They said each ward should be allocated two slots for equalisation as demanded of devolved units by the Constitution.

“Embu has 20 wards and each should get two slots. The rest 17 slots which equal 30 per cent should go to communities from outside the county as the Constitution stipulates,” said Swaleh.

They said the board is not representative as it lacks a fourth member who should be from outside the Assembly.

Swaleh further claimed the acting clerk had applied for a job in the Assembly, while he is still in the board. “They advertised in a medium that is not widely accessible then gave a notice of six days for people to apply instead of the required 14 days. Residents interpreted it as fishy and as the work of the MCA,” said Swaleh.

On allegations that some MCAs were demanding bribes of up to Sh100,000 to give the jobs, Swaleh termed the claim as injuring and said anyone who had been asked to give money to report to the Assembly or the police.

Simba said the board should begin by recruiting a fourth member then re-advertise the positions widely and give adequate notice.

Scuttle system

They said if the board goes ahead with recruitment they would go to court to stop it.

County assemblies have been involved in constant battles over a myriad reasons starting with nomination of Executive and Public Service Board members.

Apart from internal fighting, the central government and the Senate have been engaged in incessant wrangles with the later accusing the former of trying to scuttle the system.

The Sh68 billion budget for the Devolution Ministry also generated controversy in the Senate with some senators suggesting that it should have been allocated directly to counties.