The number of public servants exchanging their leave days for cash dropped by nearly 70 percent in the financial year ended June 2023, spooked by tightened rules by the State aimed at curbing abuse.
A report by the Public Service Commission (PSC) shows that only 4,216 officers commuted leave days during the 2022/2023 Financial Year, down from 14,118 in the previous year.
“It was established that 109,755 (43.7 percent) officers failed to take leave, took less than 15 days of their leave days, or commuted their leave days. 4,216 (1.7 percent) officers commuted their leave days,” the PSC report noted.
While the whole number of officers who fell under the category that failed to take leave took less than 15 days of their leave days or commuted the leave days increased from the 101,435 officers recorded in 2021/22, those that commuted leave days- exchanging the days for payment, reduced by 9,902 workers (70 percent).
This was witnessed as the Public Service announced in September 2023 that public servants would not be allowed to commute leave days and stated that moving forward, staff would be allowed to carry forward a maximum of 15 leave days.
Head of Public Service Felix Koskei in September last year said some public servants had accumulated leave days that could total up to two years, equating the culture to condoning corruption.
“There are people who have not gone for 250 days, 362 days, I just found out the other day...We cannot pay for corruption, inefficiency, someone who wants to load over others forever,” Mr Koskei said.
He said some officers were deliberately refusing to take leave, something he said was hindering mentorship in public service.
The PSC notes that most of the officers who commuted their leave days are in ministries and State departments (3,657), which also had the highest number of officers who did not apply for leave (13,210 officers).
