City Hall, NMS war spills into payroll

The on-and-off battle between City Hall and Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has reared its head once again with the two parties now tussling over the payroll.

The two are yet to resolve the issue of who is supposed to manage the payroll four months after more than 6,000 county staff were seconded to NMS by the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Last week, NMS led by Major General Mohammed Badi, said it was yet to get the payroll from the county government despite having the bulk of City Hall employees.

On the other hand, City Hall maintains that they should be the custodians of the payroll since the county employees are employed by the Nairobi County Public Service Board and not PSC.

The latest spat emerged during the negotiation for a return-to-work formula for county doctors who had been striking at the county.

It is at the meeting that NMS Deputy Director General Robinson Thuku revealed that they have been seeking to get the payroll from the county government, noting that the payroll would have helped them in resolving some of the issues raised by the striking doctors.

“Once NMS gives us the payroll then we will be able to know the number of doctors we are dealing with,” said Mr Thuku at the time.

However, acting county secretary Justus Kathenge said the issue of the payroll will be resolved by a team headed by Solicitor General Ken Ogeto, currently looking into the dispute between the two parties.

In a meeting by the team last week Thursday, the issue was raised by NMS who wanted the payroll to be handed over to them so that salaries of the staff can be moved to them.

Nonetheless, City Hall objected to the demand saying that the county staff seconded to NMS are still under them and they should be the one responsible for paying their salaries.

Instead, the county government demanded that the transfer of staff be regularised as had been ordered by the court in June so that the employees do not run the risk of being rendered jobless should the deed of transfer not be extended after its expiry.

“The contention is that the secondment was not properly done as the county public service board was not involved. PSC seconded the staff to NMS instead of City Hall writing the letters to the staff.

“What will happen to them if after the 18 months the deed is not extended and the staff are no longer Nairobi County staff? We are just trying to protect the staff and their jobs,” said a county representative in the ongoing talks.

With no compromise reached, the team ruled that human resource teams from both NMS, City Hall, PSC and a representative from the AG’s office meet to iron out the issue.

However, Governor Mike Sonko’s Spokesperson Ben Mulwa on Monday said the push and pull of the payroll between the two entities is unnecessary, adding that at the end of the day, it is the employer, in this case the County Public Service Board, who has the responsibility to process and make payments to the workers.

Mr Mulwa stated that all county staff, including those who have been transferred to NMS, have been receiving their salaries on time.

“That push and pull over the payroll is really not necessary. NMS is not an employer but an entity created to implement some functions on behalf of the county,” said Mr Mulwa.