Senators query retention of retirement-age staff at Kenya School of Government

Parliament has questioned the circumstances under which the Kenya School of Government (KSG) has retained 15 staff who are past the mandatory retirement age of 60 years.

The Senate Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunity demanded to know why the State-owned school had retained two staff aged between 71 and 75.

The committee heard that KSG had 12 officers who were aged between 61 and 65, one aged between 66 and 70 and two aged over 7o.

“Why has the Kenya School of Government retained staff beyond the mandatory age of 60 years or 65 years for persons with disabilities?” Senator Mohamed Chute, who chairs the committee, asked.

“Why should over 70-year-olds still work when we have young Kenyans who are seeking employment? Is this not against the government policy and Public Service Commission requirements?” he added.

Mr Chute demanded to know why the KSG breached section 70 of the Public Service Act, which stipulates that the mandatory retirement age in public service shall be 60 years, 65 years for persons with disability, and such age as may be determined by the commission for lecturers and research scientists serving in public universities, research institutions or equivalent institutions.

The Kenya School of Government acting Director-General Nura Mohammed defended the retention of the retirees, arguing the Head of Public Service approved their retention based on their experience in their relevant fields.

He said the KSG policy is to train public servants at all cadres of employment and therefore the retention of those aged between 60 and 75 is consistent with its mandate.

Experienced associate lecturers

“The KSG has a policy that experienced associate lecturers and professors retire at the age of 70 years. Those at the age of 66 to 70 are all faculty members,” Mr Mohamed said.

15 members of staff

“We sought and got the approval of the Head of Public Service to retain the 15 members of staff. They are on contracts of one or two years which are renewable.”

He said the KSG retains experienced persons to help train senior government staff, including Members of Parliament when they seek to enhance their skills.

“We cannot have a junior officer train experienced top government official. We need experienced persons with skills above those to be trained,” Mr Mohamed said.

“We must get experienced people to engage MPs,” he added.

He said the KSG, as a State corporation, does not directly report to the Public Service Commission, but to its Council that negotiated through the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) to get the approval of the Head of Public Service to retain the 15 staff.

The committee also put the KSG management to task over skewed employment at the civil servants’ training school.

Mr Chute demanded to know why six communities accounted for over 70 per cent of the total staff employment at the KSG.

A document tabled by Mr Mohamed shows that out of the 548 staff members, the Kikuyu accounts for 115 (21 per cent), Kalenjin (69), Luhya (61), Kamba (50), Luo (45), and Kisii (44). KSG has employed staff from 28 out of the 43 ethnic communities in Kenya.