Government starts payroll audit to weed out ghost workers
Devolution and Planning secretary Anne Waiguru. FILE
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Devolution secretary Anne Waiguru said the PSC was reviewing the number of civil servants after the payroll remained almost static despite agriculture and health functions being run by the counties.
Kenya has about 260,000 civil servants who earned a total of Sh77.1 billion last year.
Official statistics show that wages in that public sector went up 8.5 per cent from Sh278.239 billion in 2011to Sh301.891 billion in 2012.
A team has been set up to investigate why devolution has not helped reduce the national government’s wage bill, pointing to ghost workers and imminent lay-offs.
Devolution secretary Anne Waiguru said the Public Service Commission was reviewing the number of civil servants after the payroll remained almost static despite agriculture and health functions being run by the counties.
“We want to weed out ghost workers. It is not a cutting down or firing programme. We are working on increasing those numbers by sealing any loopholes,” Ms Waiguru told a forum on devolution convened by the National Assembly’s Health committee.
Ms Waiguru was, however, noncommittal on the extent of public service job cuts the rationalisation would entail pending the findings of the team.
“We will have to rationalise. We have set up a team comprising officers from my ministry and county government representatives. We will involve the unions in the exercise,” she told the committee chaired by Kitui South MP Rachel Nyamai.
Kenya has about 260,000 civil servants who earned a total of Sh77.1 billion last year becoming the second-largest component of public wages after the Sh107 billion paid to teachers.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), however, show that 47 counties inherited only Sh12.5 billion that was directly paid to the chief officers of about 175 local authorities.
Health sector unions had sought the committee’s intervention on the devolution of health services, secondment of staff to counties, employment of new workers, and the push for establishment of the Health Services Commission.
“Everyone is concerned they will be fired. We still have huge expenditures in the national government despite functions being devolved,” Ms Waiguru said.
Official statistics show that wages in that public sector went up 8.5 per cent from Sh278.239 billion in 2011to Sh301.891 billion in 2012. The figure is projected to hit Sh458 billion in 2013.
KNBS attributes the growth to increments awarded to teachers and civil servants. Teachers and civil servants accounted for 61.2 per cent of last year’s wage bill.
Responding to concerns raised by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), which withdrew a strike notice to pave the way for negotiations with the ministry of Health with regards to hiring of additional nurses, Ms Waiguru said the government would recruit more teachers, nurses and doctors.
“We are aware there is a shortage of workers in essential services. The government is constrained with regard to budget, but we are committed to ensuring we have ideal numbers despite concerns over the wage bill,” she said.
KNUN chairman Jophinus Musundi said health services should only be devolved after three years when counties have developed adequate capacity.
“There is confusion over what is national health and county health institutions. There is no policy or law in place that will guide devolution of health services,” said Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union secretary general Sultani Matendechere.
The medical practitioners also demanded the formation of the Health Workers Service Commission either through a constitutional amendment or a statute to manage the issues affecting them.
Dr Nyamai said health workers would only be seconded to counties and not transferred and hired by the county public service boards.
Ms Waiguru, however, said the government would implement the law after the Transition Authority last week gazetted health services among the devolved functions.
She said the ministry was working on a policy that would guide the devolved health services and thereafter initiate legislation. The hiring of additional 12,000 nurses and health workers has stalled because the Treasury sent Sh3.75 billion meant for the task to county governments.
Health Principal Secretary Fred Segor said the hiring exercise was to start last month but had stalled because the Sh3.75 billion budgeted for it had been sent to counties. Each of the 290 constituencies was also expected to hire 30 health professionals.
“When we wanted to advertise we realised that the money had gone to counties,” Mr Segor told the committee.
He said the ministry was negotiating with the Treasury for the money to be reversed to facilitate the employment.
