Only three out of 10 county workers fit for their jobs
Nairobi county government employees are badly equipped with skills needed to offer you the services they are employed to give.
About 30 per cent of them are 50 and above, thus are unable to conform to the changing service delivery needs.
A damning audit report by PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PWC) revealed that only three out of 10 workers match the job requirements for their tasks.
The report exposed a rot in staffing issues that perhaps explains why Nairobians rarely get value for the taxes they pay.
Sixty nine per cent of the staff do not meet relevant skills for their jobs while the workforce is bloated by 3,676 employees.
The city requires 7,716 employees only. The extra numbers are not needed,” noted the report compiled when Philip Kisia was City Clerk.
At the Planning Department, 93 percent of the workforce is unqualified! Only 18 out of 249 have the required skills.
The department approves development plans for the city.
The Legal Department follows with 84 per cent while the City Treasury, the County Government’s purse is a close third with 82 per cent of staff holding jobs they are incompetent to do.
Here, the city’s revenue is collected and allocated to projects and needs.
And another shocker awaits! Two in every three people in the Health Department are not fully qualified. That means the person administering an injection or drugs at a health centre might not be having the needed skills.
In another worrying revelation, 76 per cent of staff in the Education Department are poorly trained for the job they handle, meaning Nairobi schools are replete with poorly trained teachers and supervisors.
Only 155 of the 626 employees in the Environment Department match their job requirements. Its duty is to ensure the city is clean.
The poor staffing scenario is linked to political patronage over the years, with former mayors and councillors bulldozing to have friends and relatives on the council’s payroll.
“Nine-two per cent of our employees are support staff in the lower cadre grades ( Scale 11-18). Still, 98 per cent of all the staff have no degrees,” the reports notes.
The audit remains stuck in the shelves of City Hall even as the county government conducts a fresh audit.
The County Public Service Board chairman Phillip Kung’u earlier said the audit would give a picture of the workforce and needs.
“It is not just about reducing the numbers. It is matching relevant skill to the jobs,” he said.
Mr Kung’u said the workforce is ‘bottom heavy’ and will require an overhaul to conform to emerging needs in the county.
The Nairobi Secretary of the Local Government workers union, Festus Ngari has rubbished the ongoing audits as misuse of public funds.
He said workers were tired of endless headcounts.
“This exercise has been done over and over again. What else do they need?” he asked..