Forty-seven Kakamega revenue officers who were sacked in August 2019 but were reinstated by the Public Service Commission resumed duty on Tuesday after they were handed appointment letters.
They were reinstated by the PSC in December last year.
The 47 were among 143 revenue officers who were sent home by former Governor Wycliffe Oparanya’s administration for allegedly underperforming.
In a letter dated December 5 Public Service Commission chief executive officer Simon Rotich said the 47 officers whose appeals had been considered and who were yet to attain the retirement age be reinstated to the substantive positions they held before deployment to revenue collection.
He directed the County Public Service Board secretary to compensate those who could not be reinstated because they had attained retirement age cash equivalent to one year's salary.
While handing over the reinstatement letters to the 47, Deputy Governor Ayub Savula said the county will pay them between Sh67 million and Sh70 million albeit in instalments.
“Because of the cash crunch, we are having a problem with disbursement from the national government. We have not received any disbursement from the Treasury since December," he said.
"I'm pleading with you to give us time. We will pay but not in lump sum. We will stagger the payments depending on the revenue we receive,” Savula said.
“There was an initiative last Friday for the Treasury to send money to counties. But when you look at the schedule, what will Sh999 million do for Kakamega when salaries alone are Sh500 million. The remaining cash will be used to offset bank loans taken to pay workers for the previous months.”
Savula congratulated Public Service chief officers Prisca Otipa and Doreen Amwoga for ensuring a smooth reinstatement of the workers.
"Governor Fernandes Barasa and I will adhere to the law and respect the rights of Kakamega county workers," he said.
He said the 47 would resume work immediately after receiving the letters.
"Adhere to work ethics, report at work on time, avoid corruption and ensure service delivery to Kakamega people by doing the right thing at the right time," Savula told the employees.
County Workers Union Western regional secretary Juvenalis Orao said most of those who were irregularly sacked were just victims of a witch-hunt.
"Such incidents should not occur by having blanket judgment for the mistake done by others. The county should abide by rules and protect the rights of the workers. As a union, we don't advocate corruption. Ours is meant to improve revenue collection in the county and not engage in corruption," he said.
