• Committee chair says situation should be rectified even through sacking.
• Law says no community should account for more than one third of workforce.
Image: REUTERS
MPs have accused Auditor General Edward Ouko of systematic flooding of the audit office with members of his ethnic community.
Members of the National and Equal Opportunity Opportunity committee of the National Assembly yesterday hit at Ouko for presiding over tribal hiring contrary to provisions of the Constitution guiding hiring in public offices.
According to a report submitted by Deputy Auditor General in-charge of corporate services Joyce Mbaabu, most of the questionable hiring happened after passage of the Constitution which, ironically, provides for stringent ethnic balancing in public offices.
The NCIC Act 2008 provides that no single ethnic community accounts for more than one third of the total workforce.
Before the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, Luos were trailing Kikuyus, accounting for 13,79 percent of the total 834 staff population at the state agency.
During the period, Kikuyus were 353 translating to 42.33 percent of the workforce while members of Kisii community were 91 translating to 10.91 per cent of the total hiring.
But after 2010, members of Luo community climbed to 325 overtaking any other community, accounting for 35.48 percent of the current 916 work force.
Kikuyus dropped to number two having 156 members which translates 17.03 percent of the entire staff.
Luhyas are third with 83 members working at Ouko’s office, replacing Kisiis who dipped to 75 members from 91 before the promulgation of the Constitution.
“It is very clear that you are worse than any other state agency we have met. You have even done worse than before. If you can stay there for 20 years then the whole institution will be made up of one community,” nominated MP Maina Kamanda who chairs the committee said.
MPs Stephen Mule (Matungulu), Julius Mawathe (Embakasi South) and Mohamed Garane (Lagdera) took issue with the continued swelling of the members of the Luo community demanding that Ouko himself appears before the committee to explain the skewed hiring.
Ouko did not honour the committee’s invite and instead was represented by Mbaabu and Deputy Auditor General in charge of Human Resources Ben Muoki.
“We must stop this idea where the ethnic group where the CEO comes from is where you get more employees. It is unfortunate that the office of the Auditor General is having these discrepancies,” Garane said.
Kamanda hinted at reversing the hiring which has put Ouko on the spotlight for presiding over an office which disregards the law.
“If you think you have done a mistake, it has to be corrected. Even if you have to sack to comply you have to do it,” Kamanda said.
But Mbaabu defended the state agency, saying some of the ethnic communities either do not make applications or do not meet the minimum requirements for appointment.
Kamanda ordered that Ouko appears personally before the committee to explain the appointments.