A parliamentary committee has raised concerns over a severe brain drain at the State Law Office, better known as the Office of the Attorney General.
The National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee has sounded the alarm about skilled staff exiting in droves.
In a report, the committee cites uncompetitive salaries, poor working conditions, and inadequate support from government agencies.
In a worrying trend, the Attorney General’s office is losing experienced lawyers and support staff to better-paying state institutions.
The report tabled in the August House cites Parliament, the Judiciary and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission as taking up the experts.
“The State Law Office is faced with the challenge of retaining staff due to uncompetitive remuneration packages,” the report states.
Lawyers employed under the Parliamentary Service Commission have an entry salary of slightly over Sh200,000, a higher amount compared with what the AG’s office pays.
The high turnover has crippled operations, with the office struggling to replace retiring senior staff.
The committee believes the situation has further strained the state law office’s capacity to handle legal matters for the government.
Besides the staffing crisis, the department suffers chronic underfunding and logistical hurdles, among other serious challenges.
Pending bills stand at Sh456.9 million, while inadequate office space has forced staff to work in shifts.
The committee further points to insufficient training and capacity-building programmes, leaving staff ill-equipped to adapt to the fast-evolving legal landscapes.
“Training is necessary to enable them to adapt,” the report reads in part.
As the challenges mount, a significant drop in Appropriations-in-Aid collections has further weakened the AG’s financial autonomy.
The report attributed the low cash flows to limited operational funding from the Exchequer and the burden of court awards.
The report also notes that state agencies frequently fail to settle court-awarded claims, leaving the Attorney General’s office to shoulder the burden.
Additionally, legal counsels are often denied daily subsistence allowances, therefore hampering their ability to perform duties effectively.
MPs argue that without adequate resources, the office cannot expand revenue-generating activities, creating a vicious cycle of dependency on insufficient Treasury allocations.
The revelations come amid the Attorney General’s office getting autonomy, including to hire its own staff.
The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2024, amended the Office of the Attorney General Act (Cap 6A) and created an advisory board to advise the AG on hiring.
The Advisory Board shall advise the Attorney General on recruitment of deputy solicitors-general, state counsel and other members of staff of the office.
It is also to advise on promotion, discipline and remuneration of the staff, the latter in consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
The law, which came into force in April 2024, effectively transferred the staffers from the Public Service Commission to the Office of Attorney General.
“Any state counsel, officer or member of staff employed and deployed by the Public Service Commission and serving in the office shall be deemed to have been employed and deployed in accordance with this Act,” the law reads in part.
For the Justice Committee, independence would only make sense if the Attorney General’s office is funded adequately.
“The committee recommends additional allocation for the state law office to enhance its budget for compensation to employees to improve the terms of service for its employees,” the report reads.
It doesn’t state the current number of staffers on board but holds that additional funding would “address the inability of the office to retain staff due to uncompetitive remuneration package”.
Proponents of independence, especially on pay terms, say it is the sure way to stem the talent exodus and improve service delivery.
