By reporter
Panic and anxiety have gripped Kisumu county after the government embarked on headcount and verification of academic and employment letters.
The move aims to address the ballooning wage bill at the county, which now stands between 450 m and 550 m and is said to be undermining operations.
Similarly, the government also want to address any instances of ghost workers on the payroll.
All the employees have been directed to deposit their papers at various county points
A memo from the county secretary captioned ” schedule for mapping of staff and physical verification exercise, department of public service, county administration and participatory development directed the staff to deposit various documents with the government ”.
The list of requirements included a letter of current employment or current contract renewal, a letter of transfer or current deployment, the latest letter of promotion or redesignation applicable, an October 2024 payslip and a national identity card.
Sources at the county told Western Insight newspaper that the move is aimed at addressing wage bill and skewed job designations and aligning the staff according to their qualifications and competence.
The government’s decision to undertake headcount has with immediate effect stopped any promotion and contract renewal to staff.
Recently, the public service board postponed contract renewals and promotions after they were advised to do so by the county secretary Mr Hesborn Hongo.
Hongo has embarked on strategic measures aimed at creating sanity in the county government and recently ordered that the government will no longer pay for out-of-station allowances to staff not approved by his office.
Some of the employees who spoke but did not want to be named said the move was strategic and would help address the huge wage bill.
“We support the initiative as it will help correct the messes in the government and address serious gaps in the staff designations and promotions going forward. ” they said
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