By Mercy Imali
The Public Service Commission says it urgently needs to hire 33,792 employees as it faces a funding crisis. It needs KSh15.6 billion to hire 26,792 employees at entry grades of the civil service at KSh12.1 billion and 7,000 to join the Prisons Service at KSh3.5 billion. Already there are 17,214 vacant slots in the civil service and 4,080 in the Prisons Service.
Principal Administrative Secretary at the PSC, Mary Kimonye told a group of MPs that the vacancies are a result of an ageing workforce.
Kimonye appealed to the MPs Committee on Administration and National Security chaired by Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange to find them the cash.
The filling of the slots may run into headwinds due to a KSh5.2 billion shortfall in PSC’s budget for 2019/20. The employer needs Sh15.2 billion to kick-start key recurrent and development expenses but has been allocated Sh9.9 billion.
Some 22,981 civil servants are due for promotion at KSh3.7 billion. A total of 11,761 Prisons Service workers are also due for promotion. This will cost Sh1.2 billion.The margin is factoring the outcome of the second job evaluation, staff transfers to other departments, retirement, and desertions.
Data from the National Treasury shows 59,400 of the 500,000 public servants will retire by June 2020. A large number of those who will retire are senior bureaucrats, management and technical cadres. The government may be forced to retain some staff beyond retirement age because of their unique expertise.