Concerns emerge over legitimacy of Nairobi county public service board members

The Nairobi County Public Service Board is facing scrutiny over allegations of irregular appointments.

This issue came to light during a statement request by Ngei Member of the County Assembly, Redson Onyango, who questioned whether the recruitment process for the Chairperson, his vice, and other members adhered to the law.

Onyango claimed that the appointment of Thomas Kasoe, the current County Service Board Chair, along with his deputy and other members, did not comply with the County Governments Act of 2012.

"It is alleged that the process of the recruitment of the current County Public Service Board Chairman, his deputy, and members was not as per the County Government Act of 2012," he said.

As a result, he called on the Sectoral Committee on Labour to inquire and report whether the due process was followed.

The ODM legislator also requested that the inquiry produce the gazette notice advertising the positions and the number of applicants.

Additionally, he also stressed the need for reports from the committees involved in the process, pointing out that no vetting had been conducted.

The MCA added that the county is burdened by a large wage bill, which continues to pay individuals who have either retired or passed away, with their names still on the payroll.

Supporting his statement, Majority Leader Peter Imwatok highlighted that irregular appointments are a key factor behind the persistent issue of ghost workers in Nairobi County.

Imwatok who is also the Makongeni Ward representative suggested that Nairobi should adopt a similar approach to that of Kisii Governor Simba Arati, who has been proactive in identifying the actual number of workers.

"We see a lot of workers here in Nairobi County, for example, the Green Army whom we know are 3,000. But the county has many ghost workers, and the menace can only be solved by doing what Arati did in Kisii," he noted.

The issue of elderly and ghost workers has been haunting City Hall for a long time

The auditor general in her report for the Financial Year 2022-2023 revealed that the menace of ghost workers is rampant, indicating shared bank accounts, leading to duplicated salary and allowance payments.

Nancy Gathungu reported that Nairobi County incurred losses of Sh15.42 million due to such duplications, with over Sh100 million paid out for unverifiable allowances. The AG revealed that four employees were active on the payroll without pay.

Further, the county lost Sh15.42 million, paid twice to some 178 county officers as allowances. It also paid more than Sh100 million to 459 employees for allowances that could not be accounted for, leading to a potential loss of public money.

The 2019 City Hall Biometric Card Registration report revealed that about half of the county employees are aged 50 and above, with most set for retirement.

It showed that out of a total of 11,603 registered employees (6,118 female and 5,485 male), 5,709 workers are over the age of 50. The recommended retirement age is 60.

The number of staff between ages 50 and 54 was 2,978, those between 55 and 59 (2,712); and there were 19 individuals over 60 years old.

The workers between the ages of 30 and 49 were 5,723, while only 131 were below 30.