Hiring, renewal of contracts in State agencies frozen

The government has frozen hiring and renewal of contracts across 42 State corporations targeted for restructuring, putting the livelihoods of hundreds of workers, including top executives in jeopardy.

This follows a memo by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei that communicated the Cabinet’s approval of 42 State corporations to be merged into 20 entities while  25 others are set to be dissolved with their residual functions reverting to the respective parent ministries.

The memo also communicated that six State corporations will be restructured to align their mandates with performance expectations while four public Funds will be declassified and their functions transferred back to the relevant ministries.

According to Koskei 13 professional bodies currently designated as State Corporations will also be declassified.

Among the 42 State corporations that the government deems to have duplicating, overlapping or related mandates and are proposed for mergers to form 20 entities include University Fund and Higher Education Loans Board, Kenya Tourism Board and Tourism Research Institute, Export Processing Zones Authority and Special Economic Zones Authority.

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Others are Anti-Counterfeit Authority and Kenya Industrial Property Institute, Kenya Copyright Board, Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute and Kenya Industrial Estates.

Agricultural Finance Corporation and Commodities Fund will be merged, while Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Water Towers Agency were found to have duplicating mandates.  Agricultural Development Corporation and Kenya Animal Genetic Resource Centre will be under one office while the National Irrigation Authority and National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority are targeted in the sweeping changes.

Other State agencies that will be merged are Kenya Law Reform Commission and National Council for Law Reporting, Tourism Promotion Fund and Tourism Fund, Commission for University Education, Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority Kenya and National Qualifications Authority.

Kenya Rural Roads Authority and Kenya Urban Roads Authority that are at the centre of a tug of war between the national and county governments will be merged, while Kenya Investment Authority and Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency will operate as one entity.

Water Services Regulatory Board and Water Regulatory Authority, Regional Centre on Ground Water Resources, Education, Training and Research will be put under one docket with Kenya National Trading Corporation and National Cereals and Produce Board being merged.

Uwezo Fund, Women Enterprise Fund and Youth Enterprise Development Fund will be operated as one fund with Kenya Medical Research Institute and Kenya Institute of Primate Research being merged while Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service and National Biosafety Authority staff will be operating under one office.

Some of the 16 State corporations targeted for dissolution include Numerical Machining Complex, Scrap Metal Council, Kenya Fishing Industries Corporation, Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya Ltd, Kenya National Shipping Line, Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board among others.

In the memo dated May 16, Koskei issued a moratorium prohibiting any changes to staff organisation, salary structures, or roll out of any new capital projects in State corporations earmarked under the programme.

“A moratorium is issued on recruitment and renewal of contracts for Chief Executive Officers or any other officers serving on contract terms, at the lapse of their current tenure. That any ongoing recruitment processes of staff in any cadre is halted forthwith.  Any implementation or approval of new human resource policies, personal emoluments and benefits of any kind, staff organization, salary structures, or roll out of any new capital projects is hereby suspended,” the communique read.

The communication directed the Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service to steer transition in the governing organs including board of directors of all the State corporations targeted while the Attorney-General and all Cabinet Secretaries will facilitate full implementation of reforms under the leadership of the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning.