Nakuru hires county lawyer in bid to reduce legal fees
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui (left) congratulates Caleb Nyamwange after he was sworn in as the county attorney on March 20,2019. PHOTO | ERIC MATARA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The attorney, Mr Caleb Nyamwange, was among county officials sworn in last week.
- The county inherited Sh700 million legal fees of from the previous administration of Governor Kinuthia Mbugua.
- Mr Kinyanjui warned county officials against laziness that they will not be tolerated.
The Nakuru County government has employed its own attorney as it seeks to cut high legal fees paid to lawyers.
The attorney, Mr Caleb Nyamwange, was among officials sworn in last week at Governor Lee Kinyanjui’s Milimani office in Nakuru town.
The county inherited Sh700 million legal fees of from the previous administration of Governor Kinuthia Mbugua. This contributed to the high wage bill that stood at about Sh6 billion in the 2018/2019 budget.
HUGE WAGE BILL
Governor Kinyanjui says that having hired the attorney, the county will now reduce the legal fees it incurs.
“We are keen to reduce the huge wage bill and avoid unnecessary expenditure. Part of what led to a burgeoning wage bill that we inherited from the previous regime was legal fees,” said Mr Kinyanjui.
Others sworn in together with the attorney were Chief Officer Samuel Kingori (Public Health), Dr Solomon Sirma (Medicxal Services), Ms Ann Njenga (Public Service Management), Mr Paul Githinji (Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance) and Mr Joel Maina Kibet (Agriculture).
LAZY OFFICERS
At the same time, Mr Kinyanjui warned county officials against laziness that they will not be tolerated.
The county government has been grappling with a huge wage bill seven years since the advent of devolution.
The wage bill gobbles more than 70 percent of the county’s annual budget.
The county has 4,830 employees on its payroll with the wage standing at Sh6 billion.
LEAN TEAM
Despite efforts by Governor Kinyanjui to tame the wage bill, it still remains a headache and has hurt the county’s bid to finance major development projects.
When he took over, Governor Kinyanjui said he wanted a lean but effective team to push forward his development agenda.
Mr Kinyanjui accused the previous county administration of employing too many people who contributed to a ballooning wage bill that nearly paralysed operations.
According to Governor Kinyanjui, most of the employees were inherited from the defunct municipal council.
“We have put in place austerity measures aimed at improving our own source revenue and also to reduce the wage bill. We want staff that can deliver on their mandate,” said Mr Kinyanjui in an interview.
