The irregular hiring of journalist Jacque Maribe by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has exposed how top government officials continue to abuse their privileged positions to recruit cronies.
Mr Kuria on Sunday told Nation that Ms Maribe had been employed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to serve as head of communication in his ministry, an assertion PSC chairperson Antony Muchiri denied Thursday morning, lifting the lid on possible irregular mass hiring in the ministries.
The latest circus in hiring in top government offices is just the tip of the iceberg going by details contained in a report by the PSC on how Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and a host of CSs hired a total of 250 advisors and personal staff irregularly.
The report noted that most of the hires were from the respective state officer’s ethnic communities. They were also not competitive. This the commission said has led to gross overrepresentation by certain ethnic communities.
The PSC insisted that Ms Maribe is not on the public payroll, stating that the position would be filled competitively.
“The Public Service Commission has not appointed former Royal Media journalist Jacque Maribe as head of communication in the ministry of public service, performance, and delivery management, contrary to social media posts attributed to Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria,” Amb Muchiri said in a statement to newsrooms.
"For the record, the said position will be filled through a competitive recruitment process should a vacancy arise," he said.
But in its latest compliance report tabled in Parliament, PSC revealed that Kikuyu and Kalenjin are grossly overrepresented in government as a result of irregular recruitment.
In the report, the commission accused the offices of Mr Gachagua, Mr Mudavadi, and Cabinet secretaries of perpetuating imbalance through non-competitive recruitment.
At least 250 officers were appointed as personal staff in the Office of the Deputy President and advisers to Cabinet secretaries without competitive recruitment.
The Anthony Muchiri-led commission said in a report that political appointments have entrenched the disparities in the public service.
“The noncompetitive appointments seemed to have compounded the problem of overrepresentation of some communities, which are already overrepresented in the service,” said the commission.
“All public organisations need to comply with the requirement of fair competition and merit in making appointments, except in instances where underrepresentation is being addressed,” the report reads in part.
In a circular last December, the commission also accused the CSs of handing some of their advisors excess powers.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, Attorney General Justin Muturi, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua have been accused by Public Service Commission of irregularly hiring staff in their stations.
This was after it emerged that some of the advisors had been overstepping their mandate to the extent of seeking to supervise technical staff in their respective ministries.
Some of the ministers, who are entitled to not more than two advisors are also on the spot for exceeding the provided number.
In the circular that was addressed to all the CSs and the Attorney General and copied to the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, PSC ordered an audit of the number of advisors assigned to each of the ministers.
“The commission is undertaking an audit of all advisors appointed in the Public Service for compliance … and where non-compliance is noted, take corrective action,” PSC said in the letter dated December 14.
The circular was triggered by harassment complaints by technical staff from various ministries, who accused the advisors of unprocedurally assigning them duties.
Some of the ministers are also accused of hiring people who worked with them in the last general election campaigns as their advisors, even when they have no relevant knowledge in the said dockets.
“It has recently come to the attention of the commission that advisors appointed by the commission are being assigned duties and responsibilities which, in some instances, is creating variable overlaps and collisions within existing establishments in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs),” said Amb. Muchiri in the letter.
“This has given rise to a state of affairs that is contrary and negates Article 234 (2)(e) which is meant to ensure that public service is efficient and effective,” the letter adds.
According to PSC, only President William Ruto, Mr Gachagua, and the 22 Cabinet Secretaries are entitled to be assigned advisors.
“Cabinet Secretaries are entitled to not more than two advisors appointed by the commission. The tenure of advisors is tied to that of the State Officer to whom they are assigned,” states the letter.
PSC has directed that an advisor is only ‘responsible to, and should only support the requesting State Officer.’
In the directive to all the CSs, PSC said that an advisor should not be assigned any role that is performed by other officers in the public service.
“In this regard, an advisor should not supervise any staff in the Public Service, assign any duties to staff in the Public Service, give any instructions or directives to staff in the public service, be chairpersons or members of any committee of the public entity in which they are domiciled and represent a Cabinet Secretary, the Attorney General or a principal Secretary as a member of a board of any state corporation, Public University or State Agency,” it adds.
“For the avoidance of doubt, an advisor is appointed to advise the State Officer to whom they are assigned and shall not perform any other duties that are within the domain of public officers,” explained the commission.
PSC has also been in a vicious fight with Attorney General Justin Muturi over the hiring of state counsel.
PSC Chief Executive Officer Dr Simon Rotich had accused Mr Muturi - in a letter dated September 21, 2023 - of proceeding with the hiring even after PSC had disallowed the exercise.
“The commission wishes to point out that there is no constitutional or statutory provision that gives the Attorney General authority to recruit and promote public officers in the office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice.”
It added, “The purpose of this letter is to convey the decision of the commission that the process be terminated, and vacancies be declared to the commission for competitive recruitment. By copy of this letter, the Principal Secretary, State Department for Public Service is advised that any changes to the payroll should only be undertaken with the authority of the commission,” Dr Rotich said.
