The Nyeri government will conduct a skills audit of its employees in a move that might lead to some positions being declared redundant to reduce the wage bill.
The county has allocated Sh2.4 billion of its Sh7.5 billion 2020-21 budget for development, while Sh5 billion will go towards recurrent expenditure.
The county is struggling with a wage bill of Sh3.2 billion.
Governor Mutahi Kahiga said on Tuesday that the county inherited some staffers from former local governments whose services are no longer needed.
He said they include meter readers, yet the county does not have meters to be read.
Positions that cannot be redesigned to be within the staff establishment will be declared redundant after the process, he said.
Nyeri was both the Central provincial and district headquarters in the former governance structure and it inherited workers from the national government at devolution.
It also inherited others from the defunct local authorities, which included Nyeri and Karatina municipalities, Nyeri County Council and Othaya Town Council.
The county also plans to put most of its employees on permanent and pensionable terms instead of contract basis, which will cut costs.
“Right now, for any staff member on contract, we have to pay 31 per cent gratuity. But if we were to go to that idea where the low cadre and middle level are put on permanent and pensionable terms, then it would mean we would slice the gratuity and start paying the pension at 15 per cent,” he said.
The county is also contemplating undertaking Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) programme.
Last year, the county set aside Sh100 million for the VER but the governor said his administration was unable to roll it out.
However, the county chief said the entire process must have a human face.
“We are dealing with people with families and so the entire wage bill story must be seen from that perspective. We cannot wake up one morning and start destroying the lives of people,” he said.
Kahiga spoke when he assented to the Nyeri County Covid-19 and Highly Infectious Diseases Response Bill 2020 and the Nyeri County Appropriations Bill 2020 in his office.
Nyeri is the first county to have a highly infectious disease response Bill, he said.
The Bill, he added, will be a guide Covid-19 response and be used in the event of any other infectious diseases' outbreak.
“We want to appreciate that leadership has responded to the needs of the people and I appreciate the house on this,” he said.
The Nyeri County Appropriations Bill, he said, appropriates the Sh7.489 billion of the 2020-21 finances for the county.
He said it was still ambitious considering that the economy has been affected by the Covid-19 but said both the executive and assembly will work together to ensure they get value for money.
Edited by A.N
