City Hall staff must take overdue leave days
By Alvin Mwangi, November 20, 2024
A motion has been introduced at the Nairobi City County Assembly to compel employees who have not taken annual leave for the past four to six years to go on compulsory leave.
Tabled by Leader of Majority Peter Imwatok, the proposal seeks to curb the county’s soaring wage bill, which has been exacerbated by employees avoiding leave to retain perks and allowances.
According to a report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, Nairobi spent Sh18 billion on employee compensation in the last financial year, leaving little room for development expenditure.
Imwatok revealed that some senior officials in the County Executive and County Assembly have not taken leave for six years, with some being identified as ghost workers.
Increased travel
“We are nurturing corruption because some of these officials are afraid of missing out on deals while they are on leave. We cannot work like that,” Imwatok insisted.
The Controller of Budget’s report revealed that out of the Sh31 billion withdrawn from the County Revenue Fund (CRF) last financial year, only Sh2.7 billion was allocated to development projects.
The majority of the funds were spent on employee compensation (Sh18 billion) and operations and maintenance (Sh9.93 billion). Most of the wage expenditure went to the County Executive, which received Sh17 billion, while Sh850 million was spent on the County Assembly.
Despite the county’s financial challenges, the Controller of Budget explained that the wage bill increased by Sh6.97 billion from the previous year’s Sh12 billion. The report further flagged the county’s high expenditure on travel, with Sh861 million spent on domestic trips and Sh328 million on foreign travel.