Don’t give census jobs to civil servants, urges lobby

A lobby group in Homa Bay wants the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) to bar civil servants and pensioned retirees from seeking jobs for the upcoming national census.

Homa Bay Bunge La Wenye Nchi say the opportunities should be strictly offered to jobless youths and retired senior citizens without sources of income.

KNBS is currently recruiting ICT specialists, enumerators and content supervisors to collect population data in the digital exercise slated for August 24 and 25 countrywide.

The lobby also wants professionals, including employed teachers, doctors, nurses be barred from working for KNBS.

Bunge La Wenye Nchi leaders Walter Opiyo, Okano Nyasanga and Zachary Ooro raised concerns that many civil servants have been shortlisted for the jobs and likely to be recruited.

Mr Opiyo said the ongoing interviews for content supervisors involved mainly civil servants, including teachers and medical practitioners.

“Others are civil service retirees who earn pension. They are the majority of the people who will get the opportunity,” he told journalists in Homa Bay town on Wednesday.

Mr Nyasanga said there are many unemployed youths who qualify to collect the census data.

“Many jobless youths applied for the positions as well but they have been left out. We are concerned on the large number of civil servants who have already been recruited,” he added.

He said denying youths the opportunity would be contrary to government's vision of job creation.

Meanwhile, Mr Ooro argued that engaging civil servants in the census will also jeopardise service delivery to Kenyans.

“Suppose nurses and doctors are recruited during census, who will serve sick people in hospital when they leave the centres to work as data collectors?” Mr Ooro posed.