REALIGNMENT EXERCISE TO TAKE PLACE IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR

File: Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru during press conference in Nairobi.

REALIGNMENT EXERCISE IN PUBLIC SERVICE TO TAKE PLACE IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR

The rationalization exercise in the public service which the government wants to carry out in the 47 counties will start as by September this year, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Devolution and Planning, Ann Waiguru, has said.
Speaking at the Big Question show yesterday 9 p.m in the Citizen Television, the Cabinet Secretary said the exercise will ensure that there is efficiency in the work force in all 47 counties across the country.
" The process is meant to ensure that the people are working in the capacities that is required," the CS said.
The people were worried that the exercise may send some county workers home, but the secretary confirmed that there will be nobody who will be send home. She said whoever will be found not suitable to work in a certain capacity, he/she will be transferred to work elsewhere or he/she may be trained.
" If someone is found incompetent, one may be moved to work in where one is best in or we can also train," CS reiterated.
The Cabinet Secretary said they have not reached retrenchment exercise due to an agreement between the Council of Governors and the National Government last year. She said, however, realignment is inevitable at this point in time since the government has realized that there are incompetent workers in the counties. She confirmed that there is a commission which has been established to do retrenchment exercise and it has the representatives from the Council of Governors, the National Government, the Attorney-General himself, Salaries and Remuneration Commission among other stakeholders. She said the commission is independent and it is charged with the mandate to see how workers are doing there work in all 47 counties.
Over the past few months the government has been trying to deal with the issue of the ghost workers. The CS, therefore, said the body has been formed to deal with the issue and it is currently going on with investigation.
" The independent audit firm has been formed to investigate the issue of ghost workers and it is currently in force," she emphasized.
The CS added that the report from the issue of ghost workers will be combined with the one from rationalization exercise.
Wage bill is also a matter which took the centre stage of the discussion. The President, his Deputy and Cabinet Secretaries have accepted to have their salaries cut in the move against the looming wage bill which currently stands at 5.4 billion every year. The Cabinet Secretary, however, said the wage bill can not be reduced by cutting the salaries of the workers in the country, but it can be reduced by growing the economy, rationalization and the government should stop recruiting more workers which are more than the work available to be done.
Rationalization exercise is very important  in our country and this will make sure that the workers working in different fields are competent. The retrenchment and the issue of ghost workers will reduce the burden of taxpayers in that the people who are working will be paid and not the dead people whose names are still appearing in the payroll.