Devolution and Planning CS Anne Waiguru: We are only after ghost workers

Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru on Monday asked civil servants to take the ongoing biometric registration positively as it was only meant to help rid the service of ghost workers.

Though both the county and national governments were overstaffed, the audit was not intended to pave the way for a mass lay-off, Ms Waiguru said.

“There is no cause for alarm, if someone was genuinely employed,” said Ms Waiguru in an interview with the Nation in Kisumu, moments after launching the registration.

She said the initiative was driven by the needs of the citizens.

The CS was accompanied by Kisumu Deputy Governor Ruth Odinga, who asked the national government to regularly consult counties.

The audit, dubbed Capacity Assessment and Rationalisation, is being carried out jointly by the Ministry of Devolution, the Public Service Commission and county governments.

NOT MEANT TO VICTIMISE

When the registration began, the Transition Authority too assured civil servants that it was not meant to victimise them but to improve service delivery.

While launching the same exercise in Nakuru, a Transition Authority commissioner, Mr Simon P’kiach, expressed concern that some of those who turned up did not have their appointment letters.

Such individuals should liaise with their departmental heads in order to get certified copies of the letters, he said.

He added that the exercise would help in assessing the public service workload and ensure transparency and effectiveness at work.

The data captured would enable the government to come up with a more effective public service structure, Mr P’kiach said.

He called on public servants to fully participate in the audit, which is expected to end on October 6.

PRESENT DATA

In Nyeri County, Governor Nderitu Gachagua urged civil servants to embrace the exercise and present the sought data.

He also assured them that the audit was not meant to facilitate staff lay-offs but to bring better organisation in the government work structure.

“The exercise will help us to know the skills we have in the county so that we can have a rational deployment of staff in the county,” the governor said.

He asked those in charge of the exercise not to victimise the workers when they turn up for the audit.

Ms Angeline Hongo, the Transition Authority’s vice chairperson, said the registration will also guide the sharing of resources between the national and county governments.

She described workers as the most valuable assets for national and county development.

Nyeri County Commissioner Michael ole Tiaral assured the employees that the national and county governments were harmonising their services for a fair and effective management of public funds.

Reported by Moses Odhiambo, Magdalene Wanja and Martin Ndirangu