GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 2886

PURSUANT to section 8 (2) and section 12 (7) of the County Government Act, the County Assembly Service Board of Machakos issues the following guidelines on the operationalization of the Machakos County Assembly Service Ward Offices. THE MACHAKOS COUNTY ASSEMBLY SERVICE (WARD OFFICES) GUIDELINES, 2015 PART I —GENERAL PROVISIONS Statement of intent 1.These Guidelines are established pursuant to section 12(7) of the County Government Act, No. 17 of 2012 which gives the County Assembly Service Board responsibilities over the County Assembly Service. These Guidelines are intended to establish a framework for the operationalization of the Machakos County Assembly Service Ward Offices. 2.Citation. These Guidelines may be cited as the Machakos County Assembly Service (Ward Offices) Guidelines, 2015. 3.Interpretation. In these Guidelines, unless the context otherwise requires— "Assembly" means the County Assembly of Machakos; • "authority to incur expenditure" means a delegated responsibility by the Clerk to a ward office manager to enable the manager to expend money on behalf of the Assembly; "Board" means the Machakos County Assembly Service Board established under section 12 of the County Government Act; "Chief Officer" means a public officer appointed by the Governor pursuant to section 45 of the County Government Act; "Clerk" means the Clerk of the County Assembly appointed under section 13 of the County Government Act; 29th April, 2016 THE KENYA GAZEllE 1807 "direct financial interest" means a case where a Member is part of or co-owner of a building where the ward office is located; "Member's home" means any place, house, building or shelter located within a Member's respective ward in which the Member ordinarily resides; "Member of County Assembly" [ I means a Member of the County Assembly of Machakos; "Speaker" means the Speaker of the County Assembly of Machakos elected' pursuant to Article 178 of the Constitution; "Staff' means an employee of the Assembly working in the ward office; "Ward office assistant" means a staff member employed to perform the duties specified under regulation 26 of these Guidelines; "Ward office manager" means a staff member employed to perform the duties specified under guideline 26 of these Guidelines; "Ward office" means an office set up by a Member of the County Assembly within the ward he represents in accordance with these Guidelines; and "Ward" means one of the wards into which the Machakos County is divided under section 26 of the County Government Act or a single member ward established under Article 89 of the Constitution. PART II—CONSTRUCTION AND RENTING OF WARD OFFICE 4. Initiatin opening of an office Upon the gazettement of a Member of the County Assembly, the Clerk shall, for purposes of facilitating the opening of an office for the member, write to the Chief Officer responsible for the County Department of health, public works and lands respectively, to— (a)inspect and verify that an office identified by a member of the County Assembly is fit for human habitation and meets basic public health standards and requirements; (b)confirm that the office building identified by a member of the County Assembly is structurally sound; and (c)assess the value of the office through a qualified property valuer to confirm the market letting price for such an office. 5. Custody of lease agreement The lease agreements together with the relevant letters from County Departments of Public Works, Health and Lands shall be - deposited with the Clerk's office for safe custody. 6. The signage A Member of the County Assembly shall put up a signage for the ward office indicating the name of the ward first followed by the name of the Member of the County Assembly. 7. Maximum office space and rental value The rented office space for a ward shall be of such size and may be rented for such maximum rent as may, from time to time be determined by the Board. 8. Signing the lease agreement The Clerk shall sign a lease agreement with the landlord or agent before the Member of County assembly occupies the office and shall be responsible for the accuracy of all the information contained in the lease agreement. 9. Ensuring security The ward office manager shall ensure there is sufficient security for the office premises and may take such security measures as may be authorized by the Board. 10. Complaints.on Ward Offices (1)Any resident of a Ward may make a written complaint to the Member of the County Assembly regarding the management of the affairs of the Member's Ward office. (2)A person who is dissatisfied by the decision of the Member of the County Assembly may appeal to the Board. (3)The Board shall promptly consider the appeal made in sub- paragraph (2) and take action as it deems appropriate. 11. Construction of a ward office In the construction of a ward office, the Assembly shall ensure that— (a)the office is built on public land; and (b)the process of procurement of goods and services for the construction of the office is in line with Government procurement procedures and financial regulations. PART III—FINANCIAL PROVISIONS 12. Procurement procedures The Board through the Ward Office Manager shall purchase office equipment as may be necessary to effectively run the ward office. 13. Annual Workplans At the commencement of every financial year, the Clerk shall inform the Ward Office Manager of the workplans in respect of the Ward. 14. Prudence in procurement and expenditure The Ward Office Manager shall ensure that any money available to the ward is spent in conformity with Government financial regulations to facilitate quick, efficient and effective delivery of services. 15. Management of Ward Office Funds The Clerk shall administer the funds budgeted for the Ward offices and may delegate to the respective Ward Office Managers such powers as may be appropriate for efficient operation of such offices. 16. Reports Every Ward Office Manager shall present to the Clerk quarterly reports and such other documents as may be required by the Clerk. PART IV—STAFFING OF WARD OFFICES 17. Ward office staff A member of the County Assembly shall identify for employment by the Board, a ward office manager and other staff as the member shall require subject to the ceiling of staff salaries approved by the Board. 18. Recruitment of staff (1)A Member of the County Assembly shall, on behalf of the Board, initiate recruitment of ward office staff on terms of employment and salary scales determined by the Board. (2)The staff recruited pursuant to this regulation shall not hold any post in a political party. (3)Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulation (1), the staff recruitedshall not be paid house allowance, overtime allowance or any honorarium. 19. Terms of service The terms of service for ward staff employees shall be a maximum of five years contract. 20. Custody of contract document Each staff shall sign a contract in three counterparts with the Member of the County Assembly retaining one, the staff the other and the last one being submitted to the Clerk. 21. Resignation. A staff may at any time resign by giving one month notice to the Board before vacating employment, or by surrendering one month's salary in lieu of notice. 22. Gratuity At the expiry of a contract, a staff member shall be paid the equivalent of one month's salary for every one calendar year worked. 23. Insurance and Pension Scheme The Clerk may, despite paragraph 21, and in compliance with statutory requirements, enroll the Ward staff into insurance or a pension scheme. 24. Leave entitlement (1)Each staff shall be entitled to thirty days as annual leave and shall in that respect be entitled to a leave allowance to be determined by the Board (2)The official working days and hours for the ward staff shall conform to those of officers working in the public service. 25. Severance procedures When a member ceases to be the representative of a ward either after an election, or in any other manner, the contract signed between the Board and the staff at the ward office shall become void. 26. Qualifications (1)The ward office manager shall possess a secondary education certificate in addition to having a good understanding of Government procedures and local governance issues. (2)The Secretary shall possess a minimum of secondary education certificate (3)The ward office assistant shall— (a)have at least primary level certificate; and (b)be fluent in English and Kiswahili and the local vemacular language as appropriate 27. Responsibilities of ward staff. (I) The Ward Office Manager shall— (a)provide administrative and institutional support to the member of County Assembly; (b)keep the member informed about the implementation of the budget relating to the Ward office per regulation 12; (c)conduct official correspondence; (d)prioritize incoming mail and enquiries; (e)undertake general office management; and (f)maintain a member of County Assembly's diary at the ward office by recording all major ward events that require the members attention. (2) The Secretary and other staff shall perform such duties as shall be assigned to them from time to time by the member of the County Assembly or the ward office manager PART V—HANDING OVER OFFICES 28. Transit period between sitting members When the office of a Member of the County Assembly falls vacant, the ward office manager shall be responsible for running the ward office until a new member of the County Assembly is elected. 29. Period of vacating office An outgoing Member of the County Assembly shall vacate the ward office within seven working days after the gazettement of the new member of the County Assembly. 30. Removing personal effects from the office. The cost of transporting personal papers and effects of a Member of-the County Assembly who has ceased to be the representative of a particular ward shall be the responsibility of the outgoing Member of the County Assembly. 31. Assistance during transition (1)The Board shall pay all expenses including rent, telephone, power and lighting, water and other incidental costs relating to a ward office for one month after a Member leaves office. (2)Photocopying and postal privileges including use of franking stamp in respect of a ward office shall continue for one month after the Election Day. 32. Accounting for Board property An outgoing Member of the County Assembly and his or her ward staff shall, within one month of the gazettement of a new Member of the County Assembly, account for Board property in the ward office, including any financial transactions. 33. Handing over report The returns specified in guideline 32 shall be signed by the ward office manager and handed over to the Clerk or a representative within 30 days of the swearing in of Members of County Assembly. 34. Finalizing handing over The Clerk shall verify that all the handing over procedures have been fully complied with before making last payments of salaries and allowances, if any, to the out-going ward office manager and other staff. Dated the 22nd February, 2015. BERNARD MUNG'ATA, Chairperson, MR/9370753 County Assembly Service Board of Machakos.