Civil Servants In Kenya Will Not Lose Their Jobs.

Civil servants in Kenya will not lose their jobs in a reshuffle in which 200,000 of them will be moved to counties, Public Service head Francis Muthaura has said.

The transition in Kenya to county governments would be done smoothly and public servants would be redeployed, the Public Service boss said on Tuesday.

“The Bill on devolution will set up structures on how the process is to be conducted and there will be no one to lose their jobs,” he said.

Mr Muthaura’s assurance comes as a relief to thousands of civil servants after the Public Service Commission (PSC Kenya) had suggested that the Kenyan government may be forced to cut jobs to let go of some of its employees.

This restructuring is expected to affect workers in parastatals, local authorities and government ministries as the 47 counties become functional under the new Constitution.

“These may include re-deployment, re-designation and early retirement but no job loss,” the PSC Kenya had said.

“In the event that excess local authority staff cannot be absorbed in the counties or redeployed to the national government, there may be need for contingency plans for management of early exit,” the commission added.

Under the new dispensation, counties will be charged with implementation of policies formulated by the national government.

Public servants, mainly handling field services in provinces and districts in Kenya, will be transferred from the national government to the counties.

Others would be re-designated, meaning their titles and job functions would change.

Mr Muthaura spoke on the sidelines of the fourth Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management conference in Nairobi Kenya.

About 19 Commonwealth countries are taking part in the conference that seeks to foster best practices among public servants.

“We are hoping that our public servants will change their mind sets towards ethical and quality service provision under the new Constitution,” Mr Muthaura said.

He noted that the PSC would work with the Kenyan Cabinet, Office of the Prime Minister and the Public Service ministry in effecting the transfers.

Public Service minister Dalmas Otieno said governments were now under closer scrutiny as citizens expected more from civil servants.

“They are looking to their administrators to provide services and therefore should uphold the highest responsiveness and accountability,” he said.

“This is so because governments exist to serve the best interests of its people,” Mr Otieno added.

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