GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 246

in accordance with the Constitution and section 59 (1) (d) and (f) and subsection (5) of section 59 of County Government Act No. 17 of 2012 which states that the County Public Service Board shall: 59 (1) (d) prepare regular reports for submission to the county assembly on the execution of the functions of the Board; 59 (1) f ) evaluate and report to the County Assembly on the extent to which the values and principles referred to in Articles 10 and 232 are complied with in the county public service; It is a requirement under section 59 (5) (a) of the County Governments Act (2012) that each County Public Service Board must deliver a report to the respective County Assembly in the month of December each year. The scope of the report which is itemized in the section 59 (5) (b-f) (Annex I) is primarily on the extent to which the county is implementing the promotion and protection of the principles and values elicited in Articles 10 and 232 of the Constitution This report meets all the requirements in section 59 sub section (5) of the county Government Act. However it is noted that subsection 6 of section 59 may not be complied with at this time because the County Government has not yet established the County Gazette in which this report is supposed to be published within seven (7) days after the report has been delivered to the County Assembly. This report shall be gazzeted in the Kenya Gazette. Introduction Taita Taveta County Public Service Board is under County Government of Taita Taveta. It is established under Article 235 of the constitution and section 57 of the County Government Act No. 17 of 2012. It is a board corporate with perpetual succession and capable of suing and being sued. It comprises of a Chairman and five Members of Board and a secretary as per section 58 of County Government Act. The Members of the board are at 50 per cent gender balance. In terms of regional balance we have: Mwatate—1, Margaret Mwachanya (Mrs.). Voi—1, Evelyn Shighi (Mrs.). Wundanyi—2, Rhoda Mwashighadi (Mrs.) and Bazil T. Ngoma. Taveta—2, Isaac Makange and Stanely Kidondi. THE KENYA GAZETTE 16th January, 2015 68 68 The function and powers of County Public Serviced Board are stipulated in section 59 of County Governments Act. The Board in the execution of its mandate operated in committees which were set out in the draft Bill and as guided by the Public Service Commission. The four committees namely are:  Human Resource Planning, Recruitment and Selection, Capacity and Capability Development Committee, chaired by Margaret Mwachanya (Mrs.).  Finance, Planning General Purpose and Staff Welfare, chaired by Everlne Shighi (Mrs.).  Audit, Governance, ICT and Risk Management, chaired by Stanely Kidondi.  Conditions of Service, Compliancy and Quality Assurance, chaired by Isaac Makange. Section 59 subsection (5). This report is delivered to the County Assembly in December; STEPS TAKEN AND DECISIONS MADE BY THE BOARD Recruitment of County Public Officers The board received indents from the Executive and discussed the same in the Human Resource Committee. Some of the adverts were released in the national newspapers as a requirement in section 66 of the County Government Act No. 17 of 2012 while others were not due to financial constrains but were placed in the County website. In exceptional cases where the Board felt that the target audience was at the grassroots and not likely to read the daily newspapers this was augmented with announcements and talk shows in some of the local radio stations with wide following in the County, the County website and religious institutions . For the senior positions where issues of integrity must come to play, candidates were asked to come with the necessary clearance from Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC), Higher Education Loans Board KRA etc. Positions like those of Chief Officers, Directors and Chief Finance Officer carry immense responsibility and should only be occupied by people of outstanding integrity. The appointments were done on merit, professionalism, gender, minority, disability and regional balance. The CPSB is mandated to ensure adequate staffing levels in the County Public Service. Based on Indents received the County Public Service Board advertised 66 positions for the following positions based on the received indents from various departments during the year 2014 (ANNEX 1). Advertisements of positions to be widely publicized The board faced budgetary challenges in which it was allocate only Two (2) Millions for advertisement and hence could not advertise all vacant posts in the newspapers as required by law. Treasury also issues a circular advising that all adverts be done through the County Government website due to huge debts in procurement adverts. Copies of every advert released have been forwarded to the Assembly with a request to the Clerk to produce copies for all the Members of the County Assembly. Copies of the adverts have been sent to the Sub County Administrators with instructions to ensure that they are displayed in all strategic areas in the County. Despite all these attempts to ensure that the positions are given adequate publicity, it has come to the notice of the Board that some people within the County have not seen some of the adverts. The board will look into more innovative methods of ensuring that the adverts get more publicity through other channels including the use of ICT. Positions for which interviews have been done Various position were successfully filed while others are to be re- advertised because they did not attract qualified candidates (ANNEX 1). Recruitment of ECDE Teachers The process of recruiting teachers for Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) level in the County had started but was stopped by a court order. Interviews had been conducted except phase II shortlists. Community Policing Authority Twelve (12) names were forwarded to the Governor after competitive sourcing through interviews conducted by the Board. There was adequate gender and regional representation to meet the requirements of Article 232 of the Constitution. However when the names were forwarded for vetting to the County Assembly a petition was raised by the public and the exercise was stopped. The Assembly later requested for the whole process to start again. Re-advertised Positions The Board has to re-advertise 48 posts which were not filled due to lack of attracting qualified candidates. Applicants who are not from the County It is important to have the face of Kenya among the County employees as one way of achieving national unity. Applicants who are not from the County have been very few indeed but the board has recruited those who met the minimum requirements. This indeed is a key motivational force to ensure that the County should be able to generate its own manpower. It should be self-reliant in the event that there are skills gaps where local personnel are not available and Kenyans from other parts of the Country are not willing to take them. As one of the principles of the public service under Article 232, therefore, the Board has clearly done all it can to ensure that the members of all ethnic groups are reached. Quality of course cannot be compromised and affirmative action has got minimum benchmarks with the key requirement being one‘s ability to perform. Qualifications which are seen to be too high by the residents Complaints have been raised in various forums to the effect that the requirements set by the Board for various positions have been rather high pitched. It is should be noted that requirements for a particular position are set by the consumer department. It is however important to recognize that a strong workforce can only be made up of individuals with the right competencies critical of which are academic capability, experience and skills. The County will not be doing itself any good if it recruits a KCSE graduate for a job which can only be done by a degree holder who has worked for a minimum of ten years. At the level of a Chief Officer for example, one is supposed to be very conversant with several government procedures in transacting business both in theory and practice. Someone who has just left college for example may not perform very well in a senior managerial position for which he will require skills in managing people, work, money, time, crises etc. It is therefore standard practice for some positions to only be filled by individuals with some minimum levels of competence and experiences with specific minimum levels of academic qualifications. It is noted that there are career progression structures in practically every sector including the private sector which define promotion opportunities on the basis of what one can do at a certain level before being promoted to the next. It is further acknowledged that the people of the county as tax payers are key stakeholders in available national positions which are normally advertised in the national papers. The citizens should be encouraged to apply for the national jobs too. County Government website The County Government website has been very important to the board. It can be used to provide information on what the government is doing, what it intends to do, why it has not done certain things and when it will do them. The advertisements which are costing the County Government some millions of shillings has been released through the website with only short advisories referring the reader to the website being released through the print media at minimal costs. The board had no option but to use the website when funds were not available. Board to maintain records of applicants Section 68 of the CGA states Subject to the relevant legislation, the County Public Service Board shall, for a specified period, maintain a record of all applications received in response to advertisements inviting applications and such record may be inspected by any person. The board has facilitated inspection of documents by the public. Summary of Recruitment (ANNEX 3) The Board has employed a total of 258 employees as indicated below: 16th January, 2015 THE KENYA GAZETTE Natives of Taita Taveta County Natives of Other Counties Total Male 82 49 131 Female 78 49 127 Total 160 98 258 Percentages 62.01% 37.9% The board has fully absorbed the Health workers on SEP and RHP as follows: OFFICERS ABSORBED THROUGH THE ESP AND RHF PROGRAMME Natives of Taita Taveta County Natives of Other Counties Total Male 8 20 28 Female 27 39 66 Total 35 59 94 It should be noted that:  In terms of percentages, The Board has surpassed the Constitutional requirements of ensuring that people from other counties are employed. The statistics stand at 62.1% Locals and 37.9% from other counties  In terms of Gender, out of the 258 appointments, males are slightly more at 50.77% while females are at 49.22% which is over and above the a third gender rule Critical Decissions Made by the Board  Driving test for drivers—The board decided to include practical tests for drivers. This was done in collaboration with the mechanical Engineers from the Roads department.  Inclusion of experts in the panels for short listing and interviews.  Give offer letters for only one month.  The board recommended LAPFUND pension Administrator for the county.  NHIF was recommended for officer from Job group A–P  Delegation of powers. The board has appointed authorized officers by delegating as per section 86 of the CGA. Policy Documents The board intends to develop the following policy documents.  Disciplinary policy, codes of conduct and codes of ethics documents, training policy and recruitment policy.  Develop and adhere to Citizens Service Delivery Charter.  Develop recruitment and selection policy.  Develop training and development policy.  Domesticate and develop officer‘s code of ethics and integrity.  Develop and implement work plans. Strategic plan and Service Charter The importance of having strategic plans to guide strategic operations of any organization is cannot be overemphasized. The County and the Board have developed the documents already. Using consultants for the exercise was an option but most departments used National Government officers Alongside the strategic plans it is now standard practice to have citizens‘ service charters to indicate the services provided by the Government. These are documents which should be produced in the first half of 2015. Performance Contract It is now standard practice in Government and in many countries cross the world to account for the resources and time one has been allocated to document the achievements after a certain period. Performance contracting is not new in Kenya and it has been practised over a number of years. This is about the principle of accountability in the public service. Performance contracting in a simplified form to be designed by the County should be introduced. County establishment and organization of Government One great challenge the Board is facing is that of having a clear establishment for each department and cumulatively an establishment for the County. Section 46 of the County Governments Act, 2012 states that ―the County Executive Committee shall determine the organization of the county and its various departments‖. This will then lead on to each department coming up with its personnel requirements. The Board should be filling positions against clear establishments. Even if the County intends to use a consultant to do it, this should be done as a matter of urgency. The absorption of the casuals can only depend on an establishment of the vacant positions to be filled. The new challenge of absorbing staff carrying out duties under devolved functions with clear evidence that some departments may be having bloated staff needs to be resolved. The number of persons to be absorbed and the number to be surrendered for deployment to other needy counties under devolved functions will only be determined through an agreed establishment which will be guided by an acceptable budget ceilings on personal emoluments among other variables. To this end the Board has co-ordinated all departments to come up with organogrames with optimal staffing levels of all carders. It has worked with CARPS and a final report will realize this goal. Include specific recommendations that require to be implemented in the promotion and protection of the values and principles. The board has issued a circular to all professional staff to ensure that they have the requisite practicing certificate from their professional bodies. These specific recommendations require to be implemented in the promotion and protection of the values and principles. The board has not made any specific decisions on particulars of persons or public body who have violated the values and principles, including action taken or recommended against them. The county departments have developed their strategic plans as recommended earlier by the board. The major impediment in the promotion of the values and principles is lack of un bundling of the values and principles. The board has written to transition Authority to assist in capacity building on the same. Programmes the board is undertaking or has planned to undertake in the medium term towards the promotion of the values and principles. The board has prepared its strategic plan. The strategic objective 1.2: To promote and enhance values and principles referred to in Articles 10 and 232 of Constitution of Kenya, the board strategy is to create awareness of the same to the public service. This will be done by developing manuals on Civic education in the county and Conduct awareness and sensitization programs on values and principles to County Public service officers. The board will also collaborate with other departments in the County Government in promotion of programs on values and principles to County Public Service officers and prepare and disseminate a code of conduct for the officers in the county. Public Meetings The County Public Service Board has conducted awareness campaigns in the four sub counties for the staff and the public. Citizens’ Satisfaction Surveys It is standard practice to carry out surveys as a way of getting feedback from citizens on service delivery by the Government. Reputable firms should be sourced competitively to carry out citizen‘s satisfaction surveys as a way of identifying areas for improvement on service delivery. STAFF MATTERS Non Conducive Working Environment One reason which can contribute to poor performance is the nature the environment one works in. The Board has worked in an environment which can be described as difficult. The board has been allocated offices at Maghamba building but the partitioning has not been completed hence some board members are sitting in the board room which does not have good furniture. The board does not have enough space for Registry .The Board must now recruit a records manager as it is increasingly becoming difficult to trace a document without the support of a records management officer as a result of the continuous. The board also requested for work environment reports from all departments and gave advice on the basic facilities to be provided by the authorized officers. THE KENYA GAZETTE 16th January, 2015 70 70 The Government ought to source for funds to construct the County Headquarters so as to provide a good working environment for all for efficient and effective service delivery. Discipline Cases Very few cases of violation of the Articles have been brought to the notice of the board. The Board has therefore handled one case of indiscipline since taking office and investigation is going on. County Government Human Resource Management and Development Advisory Committee (CGHRMDAC) One of the principles listed in articles 10 and 232 is that of fairness. In a move to achieve this, the Board is recommended the establishment of the committee cited above so that some functions can be delegated as explained in the County Governments Act. The body deals with minor disciplinary issues for staff on the lower cadres. Only appeals are presented to the Board so that officers on these cadres have a chance for a second opinion. In disciplinary processes, an employee will appeal to the Board if he is not satisfied with the verdict of the committee. He will still have another opportunity to appeal to the Public Service Commission as given in section 77 of the County Governments Act 2012 if he is not satisfied with the decision of the Board. Promotions for some cadres at lower levels may also be delegated to the committee which will then forward recommendations for ratification by the Board if the process is deemed to be fair. This indeed is promoting the values of fairness and efficiency in handling staff discipline and promotions. This model borrows from the national level where Ministerial Human Resource Management Committees carry out some functions on delegation by the Public Service Commission. Promotions No officers have been promoted yet. The focus for the County government has been on recruiting essential staff to carry out duties for which there are no qualified personnel currently. Many promotion letters have been received from National Government back dated as far as 2010 especially for health department. The board is verifying the data in collaboration with the department to ascertain which officers are still working in the County how to get funds for payment of salary arrears. FUTURE PLANS The board has the following future plans in the strategic plan (1) Establish procedures for handling disciplinary cases. (2) Establish complain and compliments reporting and feedback mechanisms. (3) Conduct awareness and sensitization programs on values and principles to County Public Service officers. (4) Provide strategic leadership and oversight on matters relating to county public service performance. (5) Carry out staff satisfaction surveys and address the feasible recommendations. (6) Recruiting and maintaining competent Public Service within the county. (7) Developing and building capacity of the county staff to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. (8) Ensuring that training needs among the staff working under various sub sector are identified and necessary training provided for, for the purpose of service delivery. (9) Ensuring that qualified expertise are attracted and retained within the county by offering attractive remuneration. (10) Ensuring that principles and values are upheld by the staff within the county for the purpose of having professionalism in service delivery. (11) Policies on human resource management and development to guide several operations in the County staff within the national guidelines . Seminars and workshops attended by the County Public Service Board members (a) Induction workshop for County Chief Officers and Heads of Departments on delegation of power on 31st July at Andymac. (b) Workshop on leadership and rationalization sensitization of county secretary, chairperson and CEC on 30th ,July, 2014. (c) Retreat Diani leisure lodge 27 to 31st august, 2014. (d) Workshop with lap fund on pension on 3rd to 5th November, 2014. (e) Workshop on human rights from 25th to 29th, November, 2014. (f) Training on garps on 8th to 10th September, 2014. (g) Programme for capacity building for all County Public Service Board on 11th to 14th August, 2014 by PSC. (h) ICPSK at Nyali on 20th to 22nd August,2014. (i) CIC workshop in Wundanyi from 23rd to 25th June, 2014. (j) ICPSK on governance, integrity and investments on 26th to 27th September, 2014. CHALLENGES Constitutional gender balance requirements This illustrates the gender imbalances among the applicants which at times make it difficult to achieve the required proportions. As much as it is a constitutional requirement therefore, it will not be possible to meet the requirement for each particular position. The Board will therefore look at the totality of all appointments and much as possible ensure that the gender requirement is met in the entirety of officers on senior grades and those on the lower grades. Limited Budgetary Allocations The Board has continuously faced financial challenges as a result of inadequate funding. Its unfortunate that the Board is never called by the Assembly to defend its budget in the Assembly. The Boards Budget has continuously been slashed without consultation which has negatively affected its operations. Among those hit hard has been advertisement. The Constitution provides that a job advert should appear in at least two dailies with wide national circulation. With such inadequacies, the Board has resulted to advertisements in the Website which has not been effective. Political Interference The legislative arm of the County, the (County Assembly) has failed to recognize the independence of the Board and its activities. It stopped recruitment processes for the Board at interview level for various medical positions which were to take place from 16 th September 2014.Attempts by the Board to get copies of petitions as alleged in the letter bore no fruits .This left the board with no option but to restart the process where it had reached because no specific issues were raised on the legality of the process. Mainstreaming of People with Special Needs The Constitution provides for inclusiveness in employment. The Board has found it challenging to achieve this threshold since the said category does not respond to the adverts posted by the Board, in cases when they respond, they either do not attain the minimum qualification or the jobs are not favorable. Specialized Competencies In ability to attract and retain competitive staff especially in technical areas like medical positions is a real challenge in the county. Board Secretariat. The Board however appreciates the constraints the County is facing as it addresses the challenge of managing a huge pay roll. With this background therefore, the board will in the meantime use the services of the County Government legal officer. Comprehensive Capacity Building Plan With the new dispensation, it is essential to orient the county workforce on several new developments. It is for example important to give an orientation to all workers on Articles 10 and 232 of the constitution. It is important to educate the workforce on the transition from Local Government Act to the new County Governments Act, 2012. The board therefore requires adequate funds for capacity Building. Human capital with no capacity is a liability to a County. 16th January, 2015 THE KENYA GAZETTE The County should develop well planned capacity building programmes for its staff. It is the duty of a government to develop its staff so that service delivery improves. As a county it is time to come out with capacity gaps and approach local, national and international agencies like CIDA, DFID, GIZ, JICA which Fund training to start supporting the County to build capacity for its staff. Conclusion The County Public Service Board is extremely grateful for the support it has received from the office of the Governor in undertaking its mandate. It has indeed been an extremely cordial working relationship. The Board is also grateful for the support it has received from the County Assembly. The forums for which the Board has been invited have been cordial and specifically they have resulted in fruitful consultations being made. The Board reiterates its resolve to continue offering services to the County within its mandate and as per the oath the members took. The Board reiterates its tenacity to deliver services to the people of the County transparently, impartially, objectively and professionally. ELIPIDA MWAKAMBA, Secretary/CEO, MR/6724189 County Public Service Board.