Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. on Friday made a startling revelation on the floor of the house when he told senators that his government had experienced a hard time trying to persuade non-locals to join his administration with some even outrightly declining appointments.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
While appearing before the Senate Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration, chaired by Marsabit Senator Mohammed Chute, the Governor revealed that members of the communities in question gave varied reasons for declining the appointments such as family obligations, distance from their home counties, inadequate amenities and non-competitive salaries.
Governor Mutula noted that as of June 30, 2024, 8.4% of Makueni County Government’s total workforce comprised members of non-dominant ethnic communities, while 91 officers, representing 2.4% of the workforce, were persons with disabilities.
For context, during the period under review, the total number of staffers serving in the County Executive stood at 3,815. Out of this number, 61 per cent were female (2311) while (1504) were male (39%).
“On the county’s compliance with Section 53(6) of the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act, he confirmed that Makueni County ensured a minimum of 30% of the total county consolidated annual procurement budget was allocated to enterprises owned by women, youth, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups,” Parliament communicated in a statement.
While responding to questions from lawmakers on audits conducted by the National Cohesion and Inclusion Commission on his administration, the Governor affirmed that his government was compliant.
Governor Kilonzo stated that NCIC had already published a report confirming as much.
The Committee had invited the Governor to respond to questions on whether his administration had ensured equity in their staff composition in regards to gender, age, ethnicity and PWDs.
The Kenyan Constitution, under Article 232(1)(h), requires county governments to ensure their public service workforce reflects the nation’s diversity.
This provision ensures that public service employment is accessible to all ethnic groups, preventing any single community from dominating within a specific county.
The constitutional requirement aims to prevent regional and ethnic biases in county-level public service recruitment.
It was included to enhance diversity and equal representation in public service, contributing to a more inclusive and unified approach to governance…CONTINUE READING>>
