The Public Service Commission (PSC) has announced plans to strip Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of powers to hire and fix salaries of their personal assistants and aides.
PSC intends to take up the task of hiring and fixing salaries of personal assistants and aides on behalf of State officials.
The commission will source personal assistants of PSs from among workers already employed in the civil service.
A proposal to implement the changes is currently under public debate and will become regulation once it is approved.
“The commission may, upon request, appoint a personal assistant for Cabinet Secretary,” PSC Chairperson Prof Margaret Kobia stated.
“The terms and conditions of service for personal assistants shall be determined by the commission,” she added.
In the past, Ministers and PSs have had a free hand in hiring the aides who are normally their friends thus burdening taxpayers with rising public wage bill.
Earlier on, PSC announced plans to take away the President's powers to hire his personal staff members.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and retired Presidents Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki will now see their personal staff such as secretaries, drivers and cooks hired by the commission.
The new regulations seem to have been prompted by a report from the Controller of Budget which showed that Sh1 Billion had been spent on salaries for the Presidency staffers between June 2016 and February 2017.
Read More: PSC to Take Away President Uhuru Kenyatta's Powers to Hire Staff
