County public board under scrutiny over hiring of top officers
Nakuru County Assembly in a past session
The Nakuru County Public Service Board is under scrutiny for declaring 10 top positions in the county and ignoring the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act.
The 10 officers are supposed to be hired on permanent and pensionable terms and earn salaries of between Sh99,900 and Sh133,870 per month per the latest Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) circular.
Mr Simon Sangale Ole Nasieku, a resident of Lake View Estate in Nakuru city, has petitioned the county assembly to intervene in what he describes as a “fraudulent declaration of vacant positions of 10 sub-county administrators contrary to the Public Finance Management Act and county Budget”.
The board has also declared vacant positions for 15 administrative officers.
Mr Nasieku has been summoned to appear before the assembly’s joint Budget and Labour committees on Tuesday to shed more light on the matter.
“Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 203, the Assembly received your petition concerning the ongoing recruitment of sub-county administrators,” said a letter to him signed by Leonard Opiyo on behalf of the clerk.
“Accordingly, the petition was committed to the joint committees of Budget and Appropriations, and Labour, Gender, Youth and Social Welfare in accordance with Standing Order 205. In this regard you should appear before the joint committee on Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at 10 am,”
In his petition, Mr Nasieku said he first wrote a letter on February 7 to the board, requesting it to furnish him with the minutes of the department of Public Service, Training and Devolution that identified and approved the need for more sub-county officers.
Mr Nasieku, the chairperson of the Nakuru County Accountability Forum, also wanted to be furnished with approved budget estimates establishing the 10 vacancies.
“I also wanted to be furnished with an approved organisation structure detailing the 10 vacancies and status of the existing sub-county administrators currently in office,” Mr Sangale said.
The board did not respond to Mr Nasieku’s letter, prompting him to petition the assembly for intervention on February 21.
More than 17 petitions are pending in the Nakuru County Assembly that it is supposed to resolve before it is dissolved in June.
