Half year data from the Controller of Budget (CoB) for the year ending June 2017 shows that the State Department of Interior spent Sh404.6 million in training staff, topping the list of the highest spenders.
Allocation for recurrent expenditure for the year ending June 2017 amounted to Sh857 billions of which MDAs spent Sh347.9 billion or 40 per cent in the first half.
The government also intends to trigger promotions and review blanket ban of fresh hiring to ease effects of the ageing workforce.
State ministries, departments and agencies spent Sh1.5 billion on internal training between July and December, raising queries on value to taxpayers as overage employees continue to draw salaries due to lack of replacements.
Half year data from the Controller of Budget (CoB) for the year ending June 2017 shows that the State Department of Interior spent Sh404.6 million in training staff, topping the list of the highest spenders.
The State Department for Public Service and Youth Affairs came in second with an expenditure of Sh235.9 million, followed by the Parliamentary Service Commission that spent Sh171.7 million.
Whether the internally arranged training are helpful has remained a matter of conjecture.
A public service report released in May showed up to 1,707 government employees in managerial and technical positions are past the retirement age of 60 but have been retained due to a skills shortage.
The retained workers who are aged above 61 account for 0.57 per cent of government workforce, excluding Teachers Service Commission workers and those in State agencies
“Notable expenditure categories by the MDAs included Sh1.5 billion on training…expenditure included Sh404.6 million on training by the State Department for Interior,” said CoB Agnes Odhiambo.
Allocation for recurrent expenditure for the year ending June 2017 amounted to Sh857 billions of which MDAs spent Sh347.9 billion or 40 per cent in the first half.
The public service report said the skill shortage challenge had partly been addressed through retention in service beyond the mandatory retirement age to provide more time to mentor successors.
The old blood retention has been blamed on a lack of a mentoring program in public service for junior staff to succeed their seniors in executive roles.
The government has now moved to introducing management trainee plan next year to fast-track graduates into executive roles in order to seal the skill gap in its public service.
The government also intends to trigger promotions and review blanket ban of fresh hiring to ease effects of the ageing workforce.
The report further said 35 per cent of civil servants are set to retire in the next decade, most of whom are in senior management and technical cadres with critical skills and competencies.
