Administrator dismiss unfair hiring claims, says Homa Bay team ready for census

National government officials in Homa Bay are ready to conduct the census as planned despite claims of irregularities in the hiring of enumerators.

County commissioner Harman Shambi told residents the team was prepared for the exercise. He said they hired qualified enumerators and supervisors for the exercise.

Two civil society groups have raised complaints on the recruitment process saying it was marred with favouritism.

Interface Community Help Desk and Bunge La Wenye Nchi claimed non-residents were hired. The Interface Community Help Desk has petitioned the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics to revoke the recruitment of enumerators and supervisors, citing lack of transparency and nepotism.

The lobby groups want KNBS to conduct fresh recruitment.

"The manner in which the officials to undertake the exercise were hired was un-procedural.  We want a fresh recruitment process so only people who merit are hired," Interface chairman Oloo Gor said.

Gor and head of Bunge La Wenye Nchi Walter Opiyo on Monday took their complaints to Shambi. “We fear the exercise may not be done effectively due to the questionable process through which the officials were hired,” Opiyo said.    

Shambi said his office had intervened and resolved all complaints which were raised at the right time.

He said there was a case in which five people from the same household had been hired to oversee the census in Homa Bay Town constituency. One was recruited as a content supervisor while the other four were hired as enumerators.

“We’ve resolved issues which came to our office at the right time. The issue about the family has been addressed by revoking contracts of those who were deployed to villages they don’t hail from,” Shambi said.

Those hired were on Tuesday undergoing training. Shambi urged residents to cooperate during the headcount.

“We have trained ICT supervisors, the training for content supervisors is going on and enumerators will be trained later,” Shambi said.

He said it was not possible to revoke the entire recruitment exercise as the lobby groups were demanding. “We are already at an advanced stage of preparation and we're only focussing on the competencies of the officials,” the administrator said.

Edited by Peter Obuya

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