Blatant violation of hiring rules rife in devolved units

A new report accuses some counties of violating government employment regulations.

The audit report of the Transition Authority says some of the staff have been working on temporary terms beyond the time stipulated by law.

Some did not have appointment or promotion letters while others did not have academic credentials.

Kwale was one of the counties cited as having failed to confirm workers who have served too long on a temporary basis.

“All employees of the former local authorities in Kwale did not have letters confirming them in service, contrary to provisions that stipulate that an employee should be confirmed in service after the successful completion of one year probation, “reads the Counties Human Resource Audit Report 2013.

In Lamu, the report recommended that casual employees who had worked for more than three months be hired permanently.

The audit found that two local authorities in Laikipia had hired staff in disregard of a Local Government ministry circular suspending this.

The audit was carried out in all counties and covered all staff of the devolved functions and defunct local authorities.

Some workers in Meru did not have appointment letters while in Tharaka Nithi, some appointments were not based on academic qualifications.

It was found that some Kirinyaga workers did not know their job description, leading in a mismatch in staff deployment.

It was also found that nurses in the county had registration certificates from the Nursing Council of Kenya but no professional certificates.

In Samburu, some staff presented certificates from various institutions whose authenticity could not be verified while in Kisumu, the audit found there was “a rush to promote staff without following the due procedure”.