CountyP

Seated - 3rd from right PSC Chairperson Mr. Stephen Kirogo, 2nd from left Commissioner Titus Ndambuki and Senior officers pose for a photo with officers from Machakos County Public Service Board

The Public Service Commission in partnership with the Ministry of Devolution and ASALs conducted a weeklong capacity building and technical assistance programme to County Public Service in accordance with the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Commission dispatched teams headed by commissioners to eight centres across the country where participants from all the 47 counties converged from 16th to 22nd September 2018. The centres were in Mombasa, Kisumu, Kakamega, Machakos, Embu, Eldoret, Garissa and Nakuru.
The program provided an opportunity for the two levels of government to share knowledge on existing human resource policies and regulations, experiences and challenges. The visits also sought to deepen and enhance collaboration in matters affecting both the national and county governments public service. In attendance were county public service boards, county executive committee members for public service administration, chief officers, county secretaries, chiefs of staff, and the directors of human resource management.
The program is part of the Commission’s broad mandate as a national government entity that is required to help build capacity and provide technical support to county governments as outlined in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution on distribution of functions between the national government and county governments.
In a speech read on his behalf during the opening of the forums, PSC chairperson Mr. Stephen Kirogo emphasized the need for standard norms and uniformity in management of human resources in both the county and national public service. He assured the County Public Service Boards of continued collaboration and support from the Commission.
“The Commission extended support to the Boards by issuing various policies and guidelines including advisories on the management of human resources,” Mr. Kirogo’s statement read.
Among the issues discussed during the forums were the role of key players in County Public Service management, human resource management, performance management, disciplinary control and county appeals, and values and principles of Public Service.
Mr. Kirogo disclosed that the Commission is aware of the challenges County Public Service Boards were experiencing in the course of managing the human resource function, citing as examples, appointments, placements and promotions of staff, transfers and deployments, clarity of roles and delineation of duties, pension matters, and disciplinary issues.