Aging civil servants asked to groom successors

State House has directed civil servants to start grooming their successors once they reach the age of 58, or two years before retirement, for smooth succession.

The President’s chief of staff, also head of public service, Joseph Kinyua, said because of the wage bill issues, the government will not accept to extend the retirement age, or retain officers who are above 60 years in the service.

Mr Kinyua, in a letter to all principal secretaries, the independent offices of the auditor general and the controller of budget, state corporations, registrar of the High Court, the public service commission vice chancellors, teachers service commission and clerk to the National Assembly, said his office had received many requests for extensions of the retirement age.

“There is need to discourage these requests and allow the officers to retire when they should,” said Mr Kinyua in the letter dated Feb. 14, 2014, and seen by Sunday Nation.

In March 2009, former Public Service minister, Dalmas Otieno, through a circular Ref No OP2/7A, reviewed the mandatory retirement age of public servants from 55 to 60, with the exception of judges, academic staff in public universities and research scientists, as well as public servants with disabilities.