Punish governors and county staff involved in illegal hiring

News that the anti-graft agency is investigating some counties over alleged illegal hiring of workers is depressing.

It is depressing, especially because it comes only two weeks after governors won public goodwill following their decision to demonstrate in the city streets to protest MPs’ decision to allocate counties Sh310 billion instead of Sh335 billion. The Government and the National Assembly came across as villains, for they were seen to be standing in the way of development in the counties.

But claims that some county bosses, including governors, have been hiring their cronies and relatives illegally, makes one wonder whether such counties deserve a penny more from the taxpayer.

According to Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), governors have been influencing appointments of board members who are charged with recruitment to undermine their independence.

Consequently, some people who don’t qualify for jobs are employed, some using forged documents. Nepotism, it has been alleged, is rife in the hiring. Needless to say, such decisions ensure qualified and deserving people remain jobless. This hiring spree has worsened matters in the counties, most of which are grappling with bloated workforces and high wage bills.

This is despite Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo’s warning that the situation was getting out of hand after the counties’ wage bill increased by Sh12.5 billion in only one year.

Matters are compounded by the fact that the bulk of counties’ budget is gobbled by recurrent expenditure and only a small fraction goes to development projects.

But it is not only through illegal hiring that money is going down the drain. The level of thievery in the counties is mind-boggling and the public has lost count of the number of scandals that have rocked the governments.

Wastage of money through worthless local and foreign bench-marking trips also proves that voters don’t rank high in the priority list of these administrations.

Thankfully, the EACC and Directorate of Criminal Investigations have been working tirelessly to ensure those who plunder public funds are brought to book.

The two agencies should apply the same zeal and arrest governors or their juniors involved in illegal hiring of staff. Government workers are supposed to serve the people, not their own interests.