The government has lifted a five-year ban that had put a stoppage in recruitments in all parastatals, opening up job opportunities for thousands of Kenyans who are unemployed or underemployed.
In a memo dated Tuesday, February 15, the Head of Public Service, Joseph Kinyua, notified Cabinet Secretaries (CSs), Principal Secretaries (PSs) and the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of parastatals that state-owned firms are free to start hiring again.
Kinyua explained that several agencies had carried out reforms, including human resource audits to warrant new recruitments.
The ban, imposed in 2017, had initially barred parastatals from hiring without approval from the Executive Office of the President.
But despite the lifting of the ban, the parastatals will be mandated to receive board approval and confirmation in writing from the Treasury to show that they have a budget for the new staff.
In addition, the government agencies keen on hiring will be required to get their human resources manuals approved by the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC).
"State corporations with approved Human Resource Instruments will henceforth be exempt from the requirements of the Circular of 28th July 2017 and can, therefore, recruit staff including replacement of staff in line with the State Corporations Advisory Committee approved staff establishment," the circular read in part.
The National Treasury had suspended the hiring of staff in a bid to curb expenses owing to the huge wage bill by the parastatals.
The government moratorium on recruitment had restricted new hires to essential services such as security, health, and education.
Kinyua's directive will open up hundreds of job opportunities to Kenyans in the backdrop of mass lay-offs by private and state entities owing to the biting effects of the pandemic.
