Seconded Transition Authority officials face job uncertainty

By ERIC LUNGAI

Panic has gripped officials who were seconded by the Transition Authority to the county governments in the Western region following the national chairman’s remarks that they will be withdrawn at the end of this month.

The workers, drawn from Kisumu, Vihiga and Kakamega counties, who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity, expresses their dissatisfaction with the move by the TA to send them back to their previous working stations within central government.

Most of them said that they were employees of the defunct municipal councils and fear the move could render them jobless.

“Some of us were withdrawn from the councils that are no longer working, so where will we be redeployed since our positions have been taken over by others?” one of the workers said.

Oppose move

The officials said they do not want to be withdrawn from the counties since they were still helping the devolved units to be fully established.

The TA said it did not have money to sustain or pay its workers beyond this month and wants the county governments to take over their duties fully.

The authority’s chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi said the authority would recall about 600 officials who were seconded to the counties to assist the devolved governments develop structures.

The TA chairman revealed this last week during the annual conference of constitutional commissions and independent bodies in Diani, Kwale County.

Some of the positions held by officials seconded by TA in the counties include county secretary, coordinator, clerk to the county assembly, head of finance, and procurement officers.