Politics and policy
Public Service Commission (PSC) chairperson Margaret Kobia. About 126
more senior civil servants will be placed on fixed-term contracts as
the State moves to trim its wage bill and increase the productivity of
its workers. Photo/FILE
By ALLAN ODHIAMBO
In Summary
- The proposal means that future promotions of persons serving as secretaries (Job Group S) and directors (Job Group T) would come with three-year contracts that are tied to performance.
- This signals that the state is keen to infuse the private sector professionalism in the public sector given the managers in companies are tied to three year contracts.
- The policy shift also aims to cut down on the wage bill that currently stands at more than Sh500 billion and has become a big risk to the country’s development.
About 126 more senior civil servants will be placed
on fixed-term contracts as the State moves to trim its wage bill and
increase the productivity of its workers.
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The Public Service Commission says all State employees in
Job Group S and above will start working on contracts, signalling a
possible end to their employment on permanent and pensionable terms.
The proposal means that future promotions of
persons serving as secretaries (Job Group S) and directors (Job Group T)
would come with three-year contracts that are tied to performance.
This group of senior civil servants would join
Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries and those serving as members
of independent commissions in contractual employment for specified
periods of time.
“We basically target to have the entire top
leadership of the various ministries under performance contract so that
they may instil positive work ethics on all those working under them,”
Margaret Kobia, chairperson of the Public Service Commission (PSC) told Business Daily in an interview.
“The current system where they work on general terms and on permanent basis hasn’t helped.”
This signals that the state is keen to infuse the
private sector professionalism in the public sector given the managers
in companies are tied to three year contracts.
“We want only those who think they are capable to
apply for these jobs and be ready to be tested for sound service
delivery,” Prof Kobia said ahead of a Friday’s meeting with PSs of the
various ministries to deliberate on the implementation of the new
policies.
The policy shift also aims to cut down on the wage
bill that currently stands at more than Sh500 billion and has become a
big risk to the country’s development.
Adoption of the proposal would free the government
to extend or terminate the employment of senior civil servants and pay
them a gratuity for the period served.
The exit of such highly paid senior civil servants
would then create room for the hiring of cheaper and more productive
people to fill the vacant positions – enabling the state to meet the
twin objectives of retaining a better priced and more productive labour.
Improving productivity is particularly important to
the government, which is facing criticism over the sluggish growth of
efficiency in service delivery in the past decade.
Official statistics show that productivity in the
Civil Service improved by a paltry 30 per cent margin in the past 11
years but the wages rose 28 per cent in the past five years alone,
making the public jobs more lucrative than private sector employment.
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