REPUBLIC OF KENYA THE PRESIDENCY MINISTRY OF DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING

STATEMENT TO UNION OF KENYA CIVIL SERVANTS

10TH DECEMBER 2013

STATEMENT TO UNION OF KENYA CIVIL SERVANTS The Kenyan public service in particular has dedicated men and women who make a major contribution to the economic and social life of Kenyans. Their role in supporting government at national and local levels, in the development of policy and the delivery of services, and in the provision of infrastructure is essential. In this regard, the government is conscious of this critical role, and has indeed prioritized the transformation of the public service as one of its flagship initiatives. This transformation, though seeking to enhance efficient and effective service delivery, takes place within the context of our legal, economic and social contexts - principles that we must continuously reference in our discourse and engagements. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 fundamentally altered the governance structure of the country. Firstly, it established two levels of governments. The distinct levels were allocated certain functions to be performed by the national and county public service thereby demanding the distinction of staff undertaking national and county functions following the principle of resource following function. In the same vein, the national government reduced the number of ministries from 44 to 18 necessitating the need to reorganize the structures and staffing at both levels of government. In view of the above, the National and County Government Coordination Summit agreed on the implementation of a joint rationalization programme of the public service. To implement the decision, the Ministry of Devolution and Planning began the process of consultation with the Union of Kenya Civil Servants, the Council of Governors, the Public Service Commission, the Transition Authority, and the National Treasury, which consultations deliberated and agreed upon the principles to guide the rationalization programme, and finally developed Terms of Reference (including governance structure) for the programme. The Terms of Reference agreed on the commissioning of a consortium of firms to undertake the rationalization programme for the national and county governments within an agreed scope of work. In summary, the rationalization programme will entail a review and determination of the ideal organizational structure for ministries/counties; establishment of optimal staffing levels; an
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assessment of the human resource capacity needs in terms of numbers, skills and competencies; and propose options and mechanisms of addressing the rationalization programme in accordance with relevant laws. The programme is now set to begin within the next few weeks following a confirmation of a budget allocation from the National Treasury. This is the position we are at today. We greatly appreciate the collaboration of the Union of Kenya Civil Servants in the development of the principles of rationalization and the development of the ToRs. Your participation has ensured that the rationalization programme is implemented humanely; through incorporating key lessons of previous rationalization programmes, and deliberately infusing a comprehensive support programme for any staff that may be adversely affected by the exercise. We have noted the position raised by the UKCS as published in the daily newspapers of 3rd December 2013 and wish to clarify as follows: 1. That the Cabinet decision to freeze employment and promotions is in line with the objectives outlined above. Since the government will be undertaking a rationalization programme aimed at re-organizing our new ministries, determining optimal staffing levels and qualifications, assessing current competencies and establishing staffing gaps, it is only logical that as a pre-cursor, we freeze employment and promotions. 2. The national and county governments are in the process of auditing their staff. As the UKCS will agree, evidence has emerged of ghost workers from among the staff lists in both levels of government.
3. As you are also aware, the national government is currently

managing the payroll of all national government staff undertaking county functions until December 2013. This is in line with the agreement reached at the National and County Government Coordination Summit and Legal Notice No. 137 of 2013 transferring functions to counties. The national government will only be in a position to undertake payroll management on behalf

of counties, if each respective county makes a specific request to re-transfer the function to national government. 4. The government is currently in the process of finalizing consultations with relevant national government institutions and the Council of Governors on the human resource elements related to transfer of staff to counties. These include deliberations on transfer of pensions, standardization of terms of service between national government staff and former local government staff, designation of staff, records management and the eventual transfer of service. The Public Service Commission is in the process of developing the policy for the transfer of service to counties, as well as release of staff as appropriate. This will be completed by January 2014. 5. The transfer of service to counties will ensure that the current recruitment process by counties will only be based on in post gaps. In the meantime, the Ministry is in the process of discussions with the Council of Governors to moderate the recruitment phase they are undertaking, and where necessary, request for secondment of national government staff on an interim basis until the full transfer of service is actualized. We have further noted the concerns arising from the reported study by the Parliamentary Budget Office titled The Public Sector wage and its Implications on Economic Performance in Kenya which headlined in the Standard Newspaper of Friday 29th November 2013 titled House backs civil service job cuts. The newspaper article claimed that tens of thousands of public service workers would face the sack if the reports recommendations were adopted. The reports recommendations include the sacking of low cadre civil servants, and pushing out those over 50 years through early retirement and contract terms of service. Despite the alarming position raised by the report, we wish to confirm that the government is intent on following the agreed workplan and methodology adopted for the rationalization programme. We further confirm our intention to continuously engage with all stakeholders, including the Union of Kenya Civil Servants in this regard.
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In conclusion, the government wishes to reassure public servants of its commitment to the principles of engagement agreed upon for the rationalization programme. The Public Service is of vital national interest. How well it performs and how efficiently it operates are of critical importance to the lives of every citizen and the wellbeing of the community as a whole. We assure you of our highest regard in this endeavour.

Anne Waiguru, OGW Cabinet Secretary