Members of the public at City Hall. The county assembly has resolved to stop the replacement of employees leaving the service due to natural attrition and retirement. PHOTO | FILE
The Nairobi County Assembly has directed the executive to freeze employment at City Hall following the huge wage bill.
A report by the committee on budget and appropriation that was adopted by the assembly on the Nairobi County Fiscal Strategy paper and the debt management strategy paper for the financial year 2016/2017 stated that the county needed to address the wage bill urgently and get a lasting solution.
The chairman of the committee Michael Okumu said the assembly had resolved to freeze replacement of employees leaving the service due to natural attrition and retirement.
“The County Assembly therefore resolves to freeze any additional employment over the medium term and further that any specialized employment requirement shall be subject to budgetary provision as approved by this assembly,” said Mr Okumu.
He said the assembly had also agreed that the actual expenditure on wages and salaries shall not exceed Sh14 billion or 40 per cent of the total county revenue, with the figures reducing to 35 per cent by the financial year 2018/19.
He said the sectors had presented to the committee proposals of additional employment in the coming financial year which would raise the remuneration package to about 50 per cent of the total revenue.
Mr Okumu said the committee had also received a presentation from the Public Service Management on the undertaking on salary review and promotion that would push the wage bill higher.
“Whereas the committee was at times swayed by the reasons given for additional recruitment, it considered the proposed expenditures and resolved to invite the assembly to freeze additional employment,” said Mr Okumu.
But Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero told journalist in his office that the county had 13,000 employees whom he inherited from the national government and the defunct council.
“I inherited 9,000 employees from the defunct council and national government seconded 6,000, leading to a total of 15,000 but I have managed to reduce them to 13,000 but my hands are tied since I could not sack them,” said Dr Kidero.
He said that the county has been spending all the funds from the national government to pay salaries and that this financial year he will spend about Sh18billion on salaries.
According to the Controller of Budget, in the first quarter of 2015/2016, City Hall spent Sh 6.68billion on personal emolument from the approved Sh30.83 billion budget with Sh19.82 billion on recurrent expenditure and Sh11.01 billion going to development.
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