Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza and her County Public Service Board are at loggerheads over the board’s decision to hire more staff.
Kawira and her County Secretary, Dr Kiambi Atheru, cite a lack of funds and the unsustainable wage bill, while the Board insists there is a serious shortage of staff that is negatively affecting service delivery in the county.
On Wednesday last week, the board, led by Virginia Kawira Miriti, who is the Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, advertised at least 500 vacancies in the Health, Education, Agriculture, Water, and other departments — a move that did not sit well with the Governor.
During a press conference, Ms Miriti, apparently in agreement with other board members, told journalists that despite the resistance from the executive office, they were determined to hire more staff to relieve overworked county employees, especially in the Health Department, which she said was critically understaffed.
She has since asked interested parties to continue applying for the advertised jobs, despite the executive’s order to the board to cancel the recruitment process.
“Whereas the recommended doctor-to-patient ratio is 1:1,000, a single doctor in Meru currently attends to 11,761 patients. The nurse-to-patient ratio is pegged at 1:400, but a nurse in Meru currently cares for 1,512 patients. This, along with the recommendation from the Human Resource Advisory Committee, makes us feel there is a need to bridge the gap,” said Ms Miriti.
She added that the inadequate workforce in the county translates to poor service delivery.
“We are an independent agency legally mandated to recruit staff, and this also underlines the fact that the Meru Assembly allocated Sh100 million for the recruitment of health staff in the 2024-2025 Financial Year budget,” said Ms Miriti.
However, Governor Mwangaza said they were acting on the directive of the Controller of Budget not to hire more staff because the wage bill was above the legal threshold.
“Whereas the wage bill should be at 35 percent, we are at 40.3 percent. We are planning to replace staff who have exited service for various reasons, but not hire new employees,” said Governor Mwangaza.
She stated that employment will only occur if the National Government allocates more funds or her administration collects more own-source revenue.
Dr Atheru said the executive was keen to implement the Controller of Budget’s order against hiring more employees.
“Consequently, there is no budget for your proposed employment. Please stop the process as we struggle to bring down the county’s wage bill, which is almost half of our revenue, at the expense of much-needed development for the people of Meru,” Atheru said in a letter addressed to the board.
– Dickson Mwiti
Email your news TIPS to Editor@nairobilawmonthly.com, and to advertise with us, call +254715061658 anytime of the day
