Nairobi MCAs seek to force county staff to go on leave amid soaring wage bill
By Lucy Mumbi |
The proposal, tabled by Majority Leader Peter Imwatok, seeks to curb the county’s soaring wage bill, which has been exacerbated by employees avoiding leave to retain perks and allowances.
A motion has been introduced in the Nairobi City County Assembly to compel employees who have not taken annual leave for the past four to six years to go on compulsory leave.
The proposal, tabled by Majority Leader Peter Imwatok, seeks to curb the county’s soaring wage bill, which has been exacerbated by employees avoiding leave to retain perks and allowances.
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According to a report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, the county spent Sh18 billion on employee compensation in the last financial year, leaving little room for development expenditure.
During a plenary session, Imwatok revealed that the wage bill is crippling the county’s operations and development plans, warning that urgent action is required to reverse the trend.
He stated that some senior officials in the County Executive and County Assembly have not taken leave for six years and are not seeking compensation for the accumulated leave days, with some being identified as ghost workers.
"We receive funds from the Controller of Budget every week, but they are not sufficient to run the county government. Every week, the Finance CEC borrows money to pay salaries and allowances for officials. This must come to an end. We are nurturing corruption because some of these officials are afraid of missing out on deals while they are on leave. We cannot work like that," Imwatok said.
Mandatory retirement age
The motion also seeks to enforce the mandatory retirement age of 60 years for all county employees.
Imwatok highlighted that those who have reached retirement age should vacate their positions to create opportunities for younger professionals.
"Once you reach the age of 60, you are supposed to go on terminal leave in readiness to hand over. We are not going to allow the violation of the law to please anyone," he added.
Among those affected is a senior official at the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, who has reached the age of 60 and is reportedly seeking a term extension.
The Controller of Budget’s report revealed that out of the Sh31 billion withdrawn from the County Revenue Fund (CRF) last financial year, only Sh2.7 billion was allocated to development projects.
The majority of the funds were spent on employee compensation (Sh18 billion) and operations and maintenance (Sh9.93 billion). Most of the wage expenditure went to the County Executive, which received Sh17 billion, while Sh850 million was spent on the County Assembly.
Despite the county’s financial challenges, the Controller of Budget explained that the wage bill increased by Sh6.97 billion from the previous year’s Sh12 billion due to pension arrears payments of Sh1.69 billion, promotions of existing staff, and recruitment of additional personnel, including medical staff, the Green Army, and enforcement officers.
The report further flagged the county’s high expenditure on travel, with Sh861 million spent on domestic trips and Sh328 million on foreign travel, despite its financial position.
County officials have resorted to borrowing from a local bank to meet salary obligations and keep operations running, exacerbating the fiscal strain.
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