A new report by the Public Service Commission (PSC) reveals that State House registered an excess of 483 employees on its payroll but not recorded on the approved staff register, ranking among the list of public organisations with the highest discrepancies in staff distribution.
The report, which evaluated the status of compliance by 289 public entities in line with the Constitution in the Financial Year 2022/2023, highlighted six organisations that had an excess of over 100 members of staff.
New Kenya Cooperative Creameries recorded the highest disparity, with an excess staff of 492 in the past year, followed by State House with 483 excess staff.
Other organisations include the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) with 115, The State Department for Higher Education (69), The State Department for Devolution (61) and The State Department for Immigration (59).
The four organisations listed above also recorded excess staff in the 2021/2022 report, a clear indication that the public entities did not implement the recommendations stipulated by the PSC.
Overall, 12 organisations were recorded operating with less than 70 per cent of the approved staff levels while four operated with 10 per cent or less.
These included the Uwezo Fund (98 per cent), Huduma Kenya Secretariat (94 per cent), Hydrologists Registration Board (92 per cent), and Kenya Veterinary Board (90 per cent).
In the past year, the total number of approved vacancies was 330,469 out of which 240,166 (72.7 per cent) were filled while 90,303 (27.3 per cent) remain vacant.
This marked an increase of 14,384 (6 per cent) in the filled posts compared to the 2021/2022 financial year.
In total, there was an excess of 19,467 members of staff recorded in the staff registers against those reported in the approved filled vacancies.
PSC noted that the majority of the organisations operated without human resource management and development plans, hence leading to a strained workplace structure.
"Human resource management and development plans are the basis through which an organization plans for entry, stay, conduct, and exit of staff. The lack of a human resource management and development plan leads to succession management gaps and therefore disrupts efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery," the statement read in part.
PSC recommended all public entities that recorded excess staff be reviewed to reflect the optimal staffing levels. All public organisations will also be required to develop human resource management and development plans by June 30, 2024.
Further, an audit will be conducted on all public organisations to establish the reason for the discrepancies.
