The Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman) has cleared the State Department of Devolution of any wrongdoing following allegations of maladministration.
The Commission undertook an investigation into the matter following an anonymous complaint received on 27th July 2020 alleging irregular hiring of casuals, irregular engagement of experts, lack of internal organisational structure and irregular appointment of advisors to the Cabinet Secretary Devolution and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). Additionally, the Commission received a second anonymous complaint on 17th August 2020 reiterating some of the complaints as well as improper promotions and irregular secondment of staff from counties to the State Department of Devolution.
The anonymous complainants alleged that staff had been irregularly interdicted following allegations of fraudulently obtaining promotions. The case was still under the investigations by the Public Service Commission(PSC) but it was alleged that the Director, Human Resource Management and Administration (DHRMA) at the State Department prematurely and without authority interdicted the officers instead of awaiting the outcome of the investigations by the PSC. The second allegation was that the State Department had been irregularly hiring experts and that the manner and purpose for which the experts had been hired was not clear since there are enough staff within the department who can perform the roles assigned to them. It was further alleged that there was tribalism in their appointment as they were mostly from two communities.
The third allegation was that the State Department in the financial year 2019/2020 had only twenty-three authorised positions for casuals but instead engaged fifty-eight unprocedurally. The final allegation was that staff had been irregularly seconded from the counties to the state department.
To establish the veracity of the allegations, the Commission carried out an investigation pursuant to Section 8 of the Commission on Administrative Justice Act, 2011. The issues the Commission considered for investigations included;
- Alleged administrative injustice on the disciplinary process arising from alleged fraudulent promotions;
- Alleged irregular engagement of experts;
- Alleged irregular secondment of staff in the state department; and
- Alleged irregular hiring of casuals.
The Commission notified the Principal Secretary, State Department of Devolution, on its decision to conduct investigation on the matter on 29th October 2020. The investigation revealed the following:
a. Alleged administrative injustice on the disciplinary process arising from alleged fraudulent promotions
The investigation revealed that the disciplinary cases at the State Department of Devolution arising from alleged fraudulent promotion of staff were procedural and in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Act, the Human Resource Policies and Procedure Manual for the Public Service, and the Discipline Manual for the Public Service. The principles of fair administrative action were also adhered to as all the accused were informed of the offences and given an opportunity to be heard.
b. Alleged irregular engagement of advisors
The investigation also revealed that the State Department engaged experts under the Kenya Devolution Programme financed by the World Bank and implemented by the department. The experts were found to be part of the secretariat which is a requirement of the programme and that they were competitively recruited to work on full time contractual basis. The manner of their recruitment and purpose was found to be clear. Additionally, there was tribal balance in the composition of experts recruited.
c. Alleged irregular secondment of staff in the state department
It was found that only one staff member is currently seconded to the State Department from Narok County and due procedure was followed in the secondment as per the provision of the Public Service Act and Public Service Regulations.
d. Hiring of Casuals
The investigations revealed that employment of casuals for the financial year 2019/2020 was determined by availability of funds and needs of the user departments. Further, it was established that due procedure was followed where head of user departments formally requested the DHRMA to employ casuals and the same were consolidated and forwarded to the Principal Secretary for approval. Evidence showed that funds were available for the recruitment of sixty casual employees as there was need for their recruitment.
Consequently, the allegation that the State Department lacks an organisational structure was unsubstantiated as a certified copy of the structure was provided by the DHRMA.
Based on the findings of the investigations, the Commission recommended the following;
- The PSC to share with the Commission its final determination on the disciplinary cases arising from suspected fraudulent promotions and that the authorised officer in the state department to communicate the final determination of the disciplinary cases to the affected staff and they be advised to appeal to the PSC if dissatisfied with the determination of the disciplinary process.
- The PSC to look into allegations that the number of advisors to the CS Devolution and ASALs exceeds the required threshold and that the advisors perform roles similar to those of other staff in the ministry.
