Staff working for Nairobi county who have attained the retirement age could soon be jobless.
That’s if a new motion is adopted by the county assembly.
The motion, which is before the assembly, states that despite clear provision in the law and employment circulars forbidding hiring or extension of terms for employees beyond the age of 60, the capital’s administration is full of them.
Sponsored by Rex Omolleh, the motion reads that besides taking up spaces meant for younger and vibrant employees, the old workforce is bloated and to blame for the high wage bill.
“...Nairobi City County Government has been grappling with a huge wage bill occasioned by overstaffing in certain cadres within its staff establishment..[and that] the Controller of Budget, the Auditor General and this assembly have on numerous occasions recommended for the reduction of the wage bill in order for the county government and its entities to comply with the provisions of Section 15 (2) (a) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012 and to be able to meet its development goals,” it says.
If passed, the motion could see half the employees of the county - working within its departments or corporations - sent packing.
This could hamper service delivery.
A 2020 biometric report by City Hall that sought to weed out ghost workers found that of the 11,630 employees at the time, some 5,709 employees were 50 years or older, with 19 past the 60-year mark.
The report also showed that despite the city’s overflowing skilled youthful population who are jobless, only 792 of them were employed by the administration.
In this demographic, 621 workers were aged between 30 to 34 and the remaining were below 30.
Some 2,712 workers were aged between 55 to 59, and 2,978 were aged between 50 to 54 years old.
Those between 45 to 49 were 2,663.
No reforms have been implemented to streamline the workforce and “the government and its entities has continued to recruit and or extend the term of service of officers in the service beyond the mandatory retirement age of 60 years, contrary to the provisions of Section 80 (1) (a) and (b) of the Public Service Commission Act, 2012 and Circulars Ref No PSC/ADM/13 (7) dated November 19, 2020 by the Public Service Commission and Ref No MPSG& AA 1/5/1/1 dated February 16, 2023 by the Ministry of Public Service,” the motion reads.
As intervention, the motion wants all staff in the county executive, county assembly and Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company service who have attained the mandatory age proceed to “retire with immediate effect”.
