The government began relocating civil servants just two days after the Cabinet approved the dissolution of nine state corporations, the merger of 42 others, and the restructuring of six government bodies.
On Wednesday, Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale transferred 113 government employees from the now-defunct Kenya Water Towers Agency (KWTA) to two other agencies.
The move follows the Cabinet’s approval of a merger between the Kenya Water Towers Agency (KWTA) and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS).
According to Duale, all 113 employees of the water agency have been absorbed into the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry, while others have been reassigned to the forest service.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale during a consultative meeting with the Climate Change Directorate(CCD) team at his office in Nairobi on January 22, 2025.
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Ministry of Environment
Of the 113, 68 have been sent to the ministry, while 45 have been moved to KFS. The move comes as estimates indicate up to 5,000 civil servants are set to be moved in the government’s plans to streamline parastatals.
“None of our 113 staff are jobless,” stated Duale. His comments came hours after State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed calmed the waters, assuring the public that no civil servant would be sent home.
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the dissolution of at least nine state enterprises, while 16 others will be sold off or face outright liquidation. Additionally, it recommended merging 42 state enterprises with overlapping functions into 20 in a bid to cut waste and reduce government spending.
However, the move puts the careers of several civil servants in jeopardy as President William Ruto pushes for efforts to boost efficiency and streamline service delivery. “The reforms will address operational and financial inefficiencies, enhance service delivery, and reduce reliance on the exchequer,” read a Cabinet dispatch following the first Cabinet meeting in the new year, which was held at Kakamega State Lodge.
The merger and dissolution of only nine corporations is a drop in the ocean, with a report presented to retired President Uhuru Kenyatta by the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) recommending the dissolution of over 300 parastatals.
12 years after the report was signed in October 2013, Uhuru did not lift a finger to dissolve the institutions but instead opted not to fund a majority of them.
However, when Ruto took over in 2022, he resumed funding to the institutions and has been appointing members to the boards of many of the institutions until last Friday. This has cast doubts on the motivation for the Cabinet move, with some arguing it is only being done to fulfil requirements from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF has warned that several state corporations are in poor financial health, with their liabilities, including debts, exceeding their assets.
“An estimated public sector balance sheet as of the end of June 2023 reveals significant imbalance between liabilities and fiscal assets, leaving the Kenyan public sector vulnerable to external shocks,” the IMF stated.
President William Ruto chairing his first cabinet meeting of the year at Kakamega State Lounge on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
PCS