Reduce employees in counties to cut costs
What you need to know:
- Since counties have emerged as the focal points for development, there is justification to increase their financial allocations.
- On the flipside, counties have demonstrated profligacy in cash management.
Counties have consistently complained about inadequate funding. Oftentimes, the funds are never disbursed on time and the consequence is poor service delivery.
This is the reason there is strong clamour, through the proposed constitutional review, to increase the minimum allocation to counties from the current 15 per cent of the revenue raised to at least 35 per cent.
Besides, there is demand that the disbursement process be streamlined to enhance efficiencies.
Since counties have emerged as the focal points for development with numerous functions assigned to them, some as critical as health, there is justification to increase their financial allocations.
However, that is part of the story. On the flipside, counties have demonstrated profligacy in cash management.
County procurement systems, expenditure patterns and project execution processes are appalling. Corruption, wastage and mismanagement are rampant.
This week, the Controller of Budget, Ms Margaret Nyakango, has released a report that presents a worrying situation. Most counties are flouting financial management regulations.
Specifically, they are spending heavily on payroll due to bloated workforce. Procedurally, human resource cost is capped at 35 per cent of county’s expenditures. However, the report indicates that few counties comply with the regulations. And there is context to this.
Governors and politicians have turned counties into employment bureaus where relatives, friends and supporters are enlisted for all sorts of jobs, a majority undesirable, leading to inflated payroll cost.
This crowds out resources for other competitive and critical expenditures. Not surprisingly, many projects have stalled.
Given the prevailing circumstances, it is crucial to carry out a thorough review of counties’ staff portfolio, with a view to restructuring and shedding off excess fat.
Economic stagnation and increased demand for service delivery oblige counties, just like the national government, to institute strict austerity measures. Prudence requires organisations to operate a lean headcount cost.
Thus, counties have to reduce employees and cut emolument costs in line with the financial regulations.
