By NICHOLAS WAITATHU
A substantial number of civil servants will be sacked under a new staff rationalisation programme set to be implemented in the 2013/14 financial year.
Experts reacting to the 2013/14 budget presented to Parliament last week by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, said downsizing is expected as the State realigns the civil service.
Already, the country is grappling with a huge public wage bill of Sh458 billion and budget deficit of Sh356.9 billion in 2013/14 fiscal period.
The new realignments are expected in the new government could see some workers either sacked, redeployed, and some departments either merged or scrapped.
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lean workforce
Samuel Nyandemo, a senior economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi says the government ought to ensure civil servants are remunerated based on their output.
The renationalisation programme will focus on ensuring the public workforce is lean and effective to stimulate high productivity. Dr Nyandemo cautions the Government to first source for funds to pay those to be sacked. “ The government must be well prepared in terms of send-off package to compensate those to be sacked,” he said. “Further, Government needs to develop an empowerment programme to equip those to be retrenched with investment and business skills so that they don’t misuse the retirement package.”
Already, the State is under intense pressure to reduce salaries of civil servants and ensure sustainable growth by increasing budgetary allocation to development.
President Uhuru has been complaining of the high public wage bill that squeezes out resources meant for development. “We must keep the public wage bill in check. In the current financial year for example the total estimated wage bill is Sh458 billion,” he said two months ago while opening the 11 Parliament.
“This is unsustainable and poses a serious threat to the funding of important development projects, and has the potential to severely affect the country’s economic prospects.”
“We will streamline State agencies to end the confusing and wasteful overlap of responsibilities and create a Government that is fit for the 21st Century. As a priority we must exercise prudent management of the public finances, especially the overall wage bill,” he stated.
revenue estimates
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission headed by Sarah Serem has published a new salary payment structure of all civil servants including Member of Parliament.
Last week, Mutava Musyimi, Chairman, Budget and Appropriations Committee when tabling the report on the estimates of revenue and expenditure for 2013/2014 fiscal year in National Assembly complained that State resources are inadequate to support a bloated workforce. He observed that Government may be forced to borrow to pay workers, warning that the number of public servants will have more than doubled by the end of this year if not checked.
“As we move to devolved forms of government, where some responsibilities of national government have been transferred to counties, we expect serious rationalisation of government employees,” he stated.
huge wage bill
Currently, civil servants salaries account for half of the revenue collected by government. Public wage bill is slightly over 12 per cent of the country’s GDP in addition to being over the internationally accepted standard of seven per cent.
ICEA Asset Management Ltd Chief Investment Manager Mr Einstein Kihanda observed that the Government is torn between a rock and hard place as it ponders the best option to employ without losing public favour. “In the long run, the State will have to fire some workers in its efforts to maintain a lean system of government,” warns Josephat Mwaura, chief executive officer and Senior Partner, KPMG East Africa.
Mr Mwaura observed that the State will be prompted to downsize its workforce to operate a lean and effective civil service to ensure efficiency.
“Based on the reduction of ministries last month and subsequent appointment of cabinet and principal secretaries, it is evident more dismissals are on the way especially those who their roles are coinciding,” he said.
Kareithi Murimi a risk analyst singled out the position of Secretary that was created in all the 44 line ministries to accommodate friends of senior politicians in the former grand coalition government.
Mwaura explained that the Secretaries who were deputising former Permanent Secretaries are targeted in addition to others whose roles are likely to overlap.
