By Anderson Ojwang
The Kisumu County Government has taken a further step to freeze employment and promotions of employees, two months after suspending the exercise.
County Secretary Heston Hongo, in a circular to all departments and the County Public Service, wrote: “It has been directed that henceforth there shall be no new employment or promotion to permanent and pensionable terms in the County Government of Kisumu until advised otherwise,” in a memo dated 18th February 2025.
Recently, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) wrote to all 47 counties about an upcoming in-depth payroll audit.
In a circular to the County Secretary, Kisumu County, dated 17th December 2024 and captioned “In-depth Payroll Audit for the Kisumu Government”, Joyce Ndungu, on behalf of the Auditor General, stated that the audit would cover three financial years: 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024.
The circular reads in part:
**“The Office of the Auditor General will be undertaking an in-depth audit of the payrolls in all 47 county governments for the financial years 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024.
The purpose of this letter is to inform you that staff from this office will be undertaking the audit in your county from 6th January 2025. Kindly provide the required documents, information, and data as detailed in Annexure I attached.”**
Last year, Hongo wrote to the Public Service Board suspending recruitment, contract extensions, and conversions of contracts to permanent and pensionable terms.
Interestingly, the Board had already conducted interviews for employment and promotion of staff, while employees whose contracts were expiring were not renewed.
A memo dated 11th November 2024, addressed to the County Secretary by the Board’s Vice Chairperson, Dr Mary Jacinta A. Kapiyo, revealed that the Board had conducted several interviews and was in the process of dispatching appointment letters and regret letters.
“The Board, upon receipt of the aforementioned letter, held a meeting on Monday, 11th November 2024, to discuss its contents. At the time of suspending recruitment, contract extensions, and conversions to permanent and pensionable terms, the Board had the following ongoing activities,” the memo reads in part.
The Board had conducted interviews after receiving requisitions from different departments to recruit staff for various positions.
- In the Office of the County Attorney, there were nine vacancies. After the availability of funds was confirmed, selection was done, but appointment letters had not yet been issued.
- In the Department of Trade, Tourism, Cooperatives, Industry, and Marketing, there were eight vacancies. Selection was completed, and the Board was awaiting confirmation of funds from the department.
- In the Kisumu County Revenue Board, there was one vacant position. Selection was done, and the Board was awaiting confirmation of funds from the department.
- In the Department of Energy, Transport, Roads, and Public Works, there were 109 vacant positions. Selection was completed, funding was confirmed, but appointment letters had not yet been issued.
- In the Department of Lands, Housing, Physical Planning, and Urban Development, there were 32 vacancies. Funding was confirmed, and selection was conducted, but appointment letters had not been issued.
- In the Department of Education, Technical Training, Innovation, and Social Services, there were vacancies for Assistant Vocational Trainers (10 positions) and Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) Teachers (100 positions). Interviews were scheduled to take place between 18th November 2024 and 2nd December 2024.
The Board noted that the recruitment process had been initiated by the relevant departments and approved by the Cabinet after budget confirmation and consideration of various justifications. A formal request was then made to the Board.
“The Board received a reminder letter from the Department of Lands, Housing, Physical Planning, and Urban Development requesting the release of names of successful candidates to enable the department to operationalise the municipalities. This will ensure that the county government does not miss out on the conditional grant from the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP),” the memo reads in part.
The Board further noted that in 2020, it had conducted interviews for ECDE teachers and selected suitable candidates. However, appointment letters were never issued due to a lack of funds.
“A repeat of the same will negatively impact the Board and the county government’s image in the public eye. Similarly, it will discourage applicants in future,” the memo states.
The Board warned that service delivery in the education sector would be affected, as evidenced by the number of schools without ECDE teachers in the county.
The County Human Resource Management Advisory Committee had submitted a request on 8th October 2024 to convert 130 staff members to permanent and pensionable terms. After scrutiny of individual staff files, the number was reduced to 43, and suitability interviews were scheduled for 14th November 2024.
The Board noted that conversion would save the county money by reducing accumulated gratuity owed to the affected staff, whose services were still needed. It also warned that failing to convert contracts might demotivate staff and lead to reduced productivity.
Regarding contract renewals, the Department of Public Service, County Administration, and Participatory Development saw the departure of 70 village administrators whose contracts were not renewed. In the same department, contracts for 23 support staff expired on 30th October 2024, and renewal letters had not yet been issued.
In the Department of Finance, Economic Planning, and ICT, 10 Supply Chain Management Officers left after their contracts expired in November 2024.
The Board also observed that while 70 village administration and 23 support staff contracts had expired, these staff members were still on duty. The Supply Chain Management Officers, meanwhile, had running contracts that were set to lapse on 30th November 2024.
