GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 2240

in accordance to the Constitution and section 59 (1) (d) and W and subsection (5) of section 59 of County Government Act No. 17 of 2012 which states that the County Public Service Board shall— prepares regular reports for submission to the County Assembly on the execution of the functions of the board; evaluate and report to the County Assembly on the extent to which the values and principles referred to in Articles 10 and 232 are complied with in the county public service. Introduction Taira Taveta County Public Service Board is under County Government of Taira Taveta and established under Article 235 of the Constitution and section 57 of the County Government Act No. 17 of 2012.It is a board corporate with perpetual succession and capable of suing and being sued. It comprises of a Chairman and five members and a secretary as per section 58 of County Government Act. The J. M. MALINDA, Clerk of the Assembly. members of the board are at 50 per cent gender balance and each sub- county-is well represented. The board in the execution of.its mandate operated in committees, which were set Out in the boards Strategic Plan and in compliance with the CARPS report. The committees are— Human Resource and Development. • Administration and Finance. • Ethics, Governance and Compliance. The function and powers of County Public Serviced Board are stipulated in section 59 of County Government Act No. 17 of 201-2 Duration The report covers a period between 1St January, 2015 to December 2015 as per section-59 (1) (d) of the County Government Act of 2012. STEPS TAKEN AND DECISIONS MADE BY THE BOARD The board has undertaken the following steps and made the following key decisions from January, 2015 to date. STAFFING LEVELS IN THE COUNTY PUBLIC SERVICE Recruitment The following key steps have taken place in terms of recruitment: 1170 k THE KENYA GAZETTE 1st April, 2016 Advertisement The board advertised the following positions: County Policing Authority Member vide the standard newspaper dated 9th April, 2015 ,County Chief Officer Energy, Industrialization and Research, Director Energy, Director Industrialization and Research and Drivers Vide The standard News Paper Dated 20th May, 2015 and The County Website. The board advertised for the various positions in the department of health vide the County Website on 24th June, 2015 positions including Health Records Information Technicians. Health Records and information Officer III, Radiographers, Counsellor Medical Engineering. Community Health Assistant, Community Oral Health Officers, Medical Laboratory Technologists, Public Health Officers, Nutrition and Dietetics Technologists, Pharmaceutical Technologists, Physiotherapists, Plaster Technicians, Registered Clinical Officers Pediatrics, Registered Clinical Officers Lungs and Skins, Registered Clinical Officers II, Perioperative Nurses, Kenya Registered Health Nurses, Sonographers, Assistant Director Medical Services, Physician, Radiologist and Obstetrician Gynecologist, Director Industriahation and Research, Chief Officer Industrialization Energy and Research, Director Energy The board re-advertised for the following position after failing to attract suitable candidates in the previous advertisement: Principal Environmental Officer, Accountant 1, Radiologist, Orthopedic Surgeon, Dentist, Health Records and Information Technicians, Sub- County Water Officer, Clinical Officer Anesthetists and Director Road and Transport vide The Daily standard dated 20th May, 2015. Appointments The board competitively recruitecl 230 officers in various cadres in the year 2015 making it to 493 officers appointed since the board inception. (A detailed distribution of all appointments has been attached for ease of reference.) Posting Order from the Transition Authority The board received a posting order from the Transition Authority Ref TA/HRM/15/24 dated 11th May, 2015 of medical officers, dental officers and pharmacists The board received ten medical officers and absorbed them in the county public service. Staff Matters As part of the boards mandate on staff matters, the following decisions have been made: Training, Capacity and Capacity Building So as to build capacity of members, boards staff and the entire Public Service, The following training and workshops have taken• place: Public Service Boards Chair Person's forum attended by the Boards Chairman. County Public Service Board Secretaries forum held in Kenya School of Government. SRC consultative forum attended by the secretary and County Director Human Resources Capacity Building for the medical function facilitated by Intra- Health attended by the secretary and board staff, together with representatives from the Health Department The board went for an education Tour to the State of Israel. All board members attended and the following topics among many others were covered: Executive Leadership, Government Strticture of Israel, Completive Strategy and Marketing Strategy, National Projects Strategy, Public Private Partnership, Knowledge Management and Organization Culture. (/) Officers from the Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government Directorate of Values and Principles trained the board and its staff on National Principles and Values. (g) The board organized training for its stakeholders and trained them On National Values and Principles. A training on National Values and Principles was also organizes for all authorized officers in the county where the CECs were also invited. The board held a two day workshop for Chief Officers and County Administrators. Training for board officers on human Resource management at the Kenya School of Government, Mombasa. Training on E-Procurement for officers organized by the IFMIS academy. (1) Training on declaration of assets ,income and liabilities (m)County Public Service Board consultative forum annual convention. - Industrial attachment and Internships The board has been instrumental in providing training opportunities for students from universities and other tertiary institutions. Seven students were engaged on industrial attachment within the board and in consultation with the Director Human Resources, many more have been engaged in various departments in the County Executive. Staff Pension Scheme The board approved LAP FUND as the official pension scheme of choice for the county public service and encouraged all the affected staff to join the Fund. It's important to note that the Board had not limited the staff on LAP FUND alone since the Executive approved LAPTRUST and thus Employees were at liberty to join any of the schemes. Staff Medical Cover The board recommended NHIF for officers from Job Group A-P Discipline cases The board advised for disciplinary measures to be taken on officers that were mentioned on the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Report The disciplinary process is currently on going. The board has also given' guidelines on the procedures to be undertaken when handling disciplinary issues. Some cases that seem not to have followed the required procedures have been referred back to departments of origin in the spirit of fairness. Promotions • The board has effected promotions of 12 medical staff of different cadres in the department who were erroneously placed at a lower Job group. The board has promoted 175 officers of various cadres in the department of health and effected promotions of 57otficers of the same department who were promoted by the Public Service Commission but the Ministry of Health had not effected their promotions. Performance management The board was instrumental in the establishment and operationalization of the performance management measures where the process of performance contracting in all departments was initiated. The board cascaded the performance contract to its technical officers. The results of the Performance contract are yet to be released. Policy documents The board has developed the following draft policy documents, which are in their final stages: Disciplinary Policy. Codes of Conduct. Codes of Ethics. Recruitment and Selection Policy. Training and Development Policy. Work Plans. HIV and AIDS Policy. Alcohol and Drug Abuse Policy. Communication Strategy Paper. Complaint Resolutions . and Compliment Handling Mechanism. 1St April, 2016 THE KENYA GAZETTE 1171 The board has also finalized its Bill that is the County Public Service Board Bill, which is awaiting public participation. PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES. Professionalism and Ethics in the Public Service The board has developed Codes of Conduct and Ethics which are to be subjected to stakeholder's participation, while training for ethics and training for competence and management and leadership has been done by Transform Taita Taveta 2020 unit, all of which contribute significantly to the development of professionalism and ethics were used as indicators. The training was done to County Executive Committee Members, County Public Service Board Members, and Chief Officers, Directors and Governors advisors. The county has set aside funds for training and staff development. The board conducted a training of trainers on national values and principles where representatives of all special groups namely youth, women and persons living with disabilities were trained and asked to train their groups on the same. Efficient, Effective and Economic use of Resources Reasonable systems and structures have been put in place to ensure efficient, effective and economic use of resources. This means that adequate policies, systems and structures had been put in place and are working. Responsive, Prompt, Impartial and Equitable Service This principle is important at ensuring that public officers stick to ethics and professionalism. This has been achieved by the development of service, delivery charters for each department and for the County Government. This document is yet to be subjected to public participation. A legislation the public service (Values and Principles Act 2015), has been enacted to ensure that public services are provided promptly, effectively, impartially, and equitably. Other elements of the principle are within provisions of the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012. Good Governance, Transparency and Accountability For good governance, the county has developed organizational structures, policies, laws, procedures, and systems for directing and controlling. Transparency and accountability are elements of good governance. Reasonable levels of transparency have been achieved through public participation. The principle of accountability centers on the obligation of the public service to disclose results in a transparent manner, account to the public for the activities and results, and accept judgment, rewards or punishment. This has been achieved by conducting ward visits by all departments to share with the public the achievements of the projects and programs Fair Competition and Merit in Appointments and Promotions The board has complied with the law where vacancies in the public service are advertised and merit interviews conducted. Currently, recruitment and promotion has been guided by policy developed and the relevant laws, while at the same time providing adequate and equal opportunities at all levels of public service for men and women, members of all ethnic groups and persons with disability. It should be noted that the principles of diversity apply in a progressive manner in accordance with the wording of Article 232 (1) (i). They, therefore, do not apply in retrospect. Provisioning for Diversity The concept of diversity is in reference to fulfillment of the requirements for the two thirds gender representation, employment of persons with disability, employment of minority and marginalized groups, and representation of Kenya's ethnic groups in the public service. The County Government has achieved this as in gender we have 49 per cent Female to 51 per cent Male and local 61 per cent and Diasporas 39 per cent The main challenge we have as a county is attaining the 5 per cent on Persons with Disabilities. So far we are at less than 2 per cent affirmative action will be the way to go in future. Sustainable Development This principle of sustainable development is considered from three dimensions - economic, environmental and social dimensions. Indeed, for a development model to be sustainable, it must satisfy requirements for economic and environmental sustainability, and social justice. Public Participation in Policy Formulation and Implementation Participation is considered one of the milestones of democratic Government. This is because participatory democracy provides a mechanism of involving people in the governing processes. Public involvement is a means to ensure that citizens have a direct voice in decisions This has been achieved by public participations done at ward levels and sub-county levels by all departments. The department of Administration and Devolution has been very instrumental in the success of this principle. Devolution and Sharing of Power Devolution and sharing of power is a principle that is critical to promotion of democracy, respect for diversity, ensuring equitable sharing of resources, promotion of accountability and decentralization of power, authority and resources. Article 6 of the Constitution provides that national and county levels of Government are distinct and interdependent and shall conduct their mutual relations on the basis of consultation and co-operation. The County Government has devolved further and operationalize the sub county and ward levels. All departments have devolved their functions to the same levels and are very vibrant. Declaration of Income, Assets and Liabilities Part IV of the Public Officers Ethics Act Cap. 183 require public officers to declare their income, assets and liabilities at entry, every two years and at exit period. The two-year declaration is done by 31st October of the declaration year, with the window closing on 31st January of the New Year. The board has facilitated the implementation of this Act in this year. The board conducted training to members of staff on National Values and Principles, and declaration of income, assets and liabilities in line with the Public Officer Ethics Act, 2003 The board has directly been involved in the exercise of ensuring that all public servants in the county have declared their income, assets and liabilities. All professional staff has been asked to acquire the requisite practicing certificate from, their professional bodies. These specific recommendations require to be implemented in the promotion and protection of the values and principles. (A detailed Report on Promotion and Protection of National Values has been attached for ease of reference). OTHER NOTABLE ISSUES The board has from time to time made efforts to make wide consultation with the County's Legislative Authority to ensure its mandate is achieved. The board' has had meetings with the County Assembly during the budget making process and further worked closely with County Assembly Committee of labor and manpower development. The board also honored summons by the County Assembly to, shed light on various human resource issues in the county between 26th October, 2015 to 11th November, 2015 and shall continue to take part in similar engagements in future: • The board has also engaged the Executive in a bid to share experiences and challenges for the better of the county public service • The board was instrumental in ending the Nurses strike that took place between 14th December, 2015 to 16th December, 2015. The board handled the nurses' strike swiftly and has since put mechanisms to ensure that the same does not happen in future. • The board is currently engaging Departmental Heads on adequate staffing levels as recommended by the Capacity Assessment and Rationalization of Public Servant (CARPS) report. The end result will be a lean, effective and efficient public service that will help solve the ever rising County Wage Bill • The board has constituted a disability mainstreaming committee from all the county departments to deliberate on issues affecting people living with disability in line with the Constitution of Kenya • The board has formed guidance and counselling committee to ensure staff welfare is taken care of BOARDS FUTURE PLANS The board has the following plans in its immediate future • Sub-County Sensitization Meetings with all its stakeholders that is staff and the general public. This is aimed at monitoring adherence on national values and principles. Subject to availability of funds, the board is planning to have sensitization meetings up to ward level. • Provide strategic leadership and oversight on matters relating • to County Public Service Performance. • Recruiting and maintaining competent public service within the county. • Developing and building capacity of the county staff to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. • Ensuring that training needs among the staff working under various sub sector are identified and necessary training provided for, for the purpose of service delivery. • Ensuring that principles and values are upheld by the staff within the county for the purpose of having professionalism in service delivery.. • The board is working closely with all the arms of the Government to ensure that the issue of casuals is solved amicable so as to ensure employees are not disadvantaged. • The Finance Committee of the board and that of audit will conduct a spot check audit on the current status of staff welfare in all department and come up with redress mechanisms.. • The board is following up on the loans and mortgages .approved by the Salary and remuneration commission so as to ensure county staff benefit from such schemes. CHALLENGES Limited Budgetary. Allocations The board has continuously faced financial challenges because of inadequate funding. The Boards Budget has continuously been slashed without consultation which has negatively affected its operations. Among those hit hard has been advertisement. The Constitution provides that a job advert should appear in at least two dailies with wide national circulation. With such inadequacies, the board has resulted to advertisements in the website, which has not been effective. The board had been allocated a ceiling of KSh. 43,810,345 in the County fiscal strategy paper for the year 2015/2016 which was inclusive of salaries that amounted to KSh. 28,525,587. This leaves the Board with only KSh. 15,284,753 for operations. The board had development projects that amount to KSh. 17,000,000 which had not been catered for in the budget. This therefore means that the budget is not sufficient and the board cannot effectively execute its mandates as required. Mainstreaming of People with Special Needs The Constitution provides for inclusiveness in employment. The board has found it challenging to achieve this threshold since the said category does not respond to the adverts posted by the board, however, during this year, the board managed to engage two medical laboratory staff with special needs on permanent and pensionable terms. We call upon the representatives of the said group to assist the board in achieving this mandate. Specialized Competencies Where specialized competences like engineering and doctors are required, the board has found it challenging to attract and retain competitive staff The board has had to re-advertise for specialized positions like radiologists, dentists, anaesthetists but failed to attract competent staff. This has posed a challenge in the county. COMPREHENSIVE CAPACITY BUILDING PLAN With the new dispensation, it is essential to orient the county workforce on several new developments. It is for example important to give an orientation to all workers on Articles 10 and 232 of the Constitution. It is important to educate the workforce on the transition from Local Government Act to the new county Governments Act, 2012. The board therefore requires adequate funds for capacity Building. Human capital with no capacity is a liability to a county. The county should develop well-planned capacity building programmes for its staff. It is the duty of a Government to develop its staff so that service delivery improves. The Board wishes to. appreciate the support received from organizations like USAID and UNDP which have been instrumental in funding various training programmes and call upon many more to assist the county in building capacity of its staff, CONCLUSION The County Public Service Board is extremely grateful for the support it has received from the County Legislature, Executive and all its stakeholders in undertaking its mandate. It has indeed been an extremely cordial working relationship. The forums for which the board has been invited have been cordial and specifically they have resulted in fruitful consultations being made. The board reiterates its resolve to continue offering services to the county within its mandate and as per the oath the members took. The board reiterates its tenacity to deliver services to the people of the county transparently, impartially, objectively and professionally. ELIPIDA MWAKAMBA, Secretary/CEO, MR18808 187 County Public Service Board.