Row as governors advertise civil servants’ jobs

By Juma Kwayera

County Public Service boards face criticism over plans to hire staff to fill in positions already held by civil servants. Transition Authority Chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi warns the recruitment push by governors would hurt inter-governmental relations as laid out in the Constitution.

Friction is emerging as some functions of the national government are to be decentralised this month as governors begin to exercise executive powers. Some civil servants are reluctant to work under county public service boards, pointing to the prospect of labour disputes as the governors seek to assert their authority while civil servants fight to retain their jobs. The fear among civil servants is fanned by alleged ethnic agenda pursued by some governors. Commenting on the flurry of advertisements for county jobs, Mr Wamwangi said staffers seconded to counties by the national government are already in place. Some of the staff, he said, were already employed to work at the same level before coming into being of county governments. In some counties, for example in the former Coast, Rift Valley, Nyanza and North-Eastern provinces, it is alleged that certain cadre civil servants have been threatened with the sack or transfer to create room for employment of indigenous people.

 County staff

“Only 30 per cent of the county staff will be hired by county governments. You cannot advertise positions that are already occupied,” Mr Wamwangi said in response to fears by nurses that governors have discretion to hire and fire workers without reference to the national government.  Governors have accused of being bullish in their exercise of powers, with those in Mombasa and Nairobi said to be threatening to sack staff posted to the counties by national government.

The announcement last week by the Transition Authority boss, Wamwangi and Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning Anne Waiguru that 24 functions hitherto executed by the national government would be dispersed to regional governments has unleashed panic and excitement in equal measure in the counties.

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Some governors are reportedly rooting for their tribesmen to run county affairs. Ms Waiguru and Mr Wamwangi made public the functions of the government that will be devolved. The two told 47 governors during a meeting at the State House that they should be ready to handle agriculture, health, transport, trade, planning and development, whose devolution began this month.

Other functions counties will be in charge of include ambulance services, primary healthcare, licensing and control of businesses that sell food to the public and veterinary services, excluding regulation of the professions. Wamwangi told counties chief to start building capacities before seeking additional functions.