Assemblies demand salaries team boss Serem’s head in pay dispute

County assemblies have demanded the resignation of salaries team boss Sarah Serem, accusing her of refusing to raise their members’ pay.
The assemblies also suspended sittings indefinitely until their salary demands are met.

This comes after summoning of Nandi County Assembly members for a special meeting that wants Mrs Serem to resign.

MAKING LIFE DIFFICULT

They alleged she was frustrating assembly members despite the high cost of living and that they did not understand the difficulties under which they worked.

Majority Leader Julius Sawe criticised the salaries boss’s planned job re-evaluation which she said was “making life difficult for county assembly members, officers and even MPs”.

Separately, a statement read by County Assemblies Forum secretary-general Albert Kochei accused Mrs Serem of addressing them through the media.

“We sent an official email to her but she is addressing assemblies through the media, disregarding the dialogue she has been purporting to advocate,” Mr Kochei said.

The official, who is also the Elgeyo Marakwet Speaker said all assemblies were adjourned and would not resume until the get an increase.

Mr Kochei was responding to a Press statement by Mrs Serem, saying, the salaries team was about to conduct a fresh job evaluation of State officers in county governments to harmonise salaries in the devolved units.

HEED THEIR CRIES

She said the re-evaluation will affect governors, their deputies, executives, interim secretaries, speakers and other senior staff and is expected to end in November and will be made public.

Yesterday, the Transition Authority urged the salaries commissin to increase County Assembly Members’ pay.

Speaking in Ol Kalou Town in Nyandarua County, chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi said it was his duty to ensure the needs of county governments were fulfilled.

“We therefore ask Sarah Serem to heed their cries and raise their salaries,” Mr Wamwangi said.

He also said Parliament should relinquish control of the constituency development fund which was now under county governments.

“We know MPs want to continue controlling the CDF, but it should be controlled by county governments,” Mr Wamwangi said.

He accused MPs of shunning development forums organised by county governments. “No MP is present here and that has been the norm around the country,” he said.
Mr Wamwangi also announced that the Transition Authority was working with the Senate on a law that will define national roads to clear the air on which ones fell under counties’ jurisdiction.

The forum was the second that the authority has organised to evaluate transition to the county governments.

RUFFLING FEATHERS
Why Serem is unpopular

SRC chairperson Sarah Serem has been criticised for a planned fresh job evaluation, to start this month, to identify factors affecting productivity in the counties, which were not captured during an evaluation in March.

The commission will begin the exercise that was delayed by procurement not later than October to find out what it was not privy to in the first evaluation, Mrs Serem said.