NAIROBI,
Kenya
The hiring
freeze imposed by the National Treasury for the next three financial years will
be in force until advised otherwise, Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has said.Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani at Parliament Buildings on June 11.
The CS
spelt this in tough rules for Ministries, State Departments and Agencies on how
they are expected to implement the current budget.
In that
regard, the hiring of new staff will be restricted to security agencies, health
workers, and the education sector.
“Recruitment
of new staff should only take place after the MDA has obtained approval from
the National Treasury,” the June 28 circular to all ministries reads.
State
agencies have also been barred from recruiting and placing interns with,
Treasury directing that the lot will be strictly sourced by the Public Service
Commission.
Even so,
the interns’ intake will be subject to confirmation of the availability of
funds from the National Treasury, which will have to approve the same before
execution by PSC.
Yatani
said replacement of staff as a result of natural attrition– death, retirement,
sackings, is not frozen.
Such
replacements will only be undertaken after Treasury confirms that funds are
available, and approval by the relevant government entities.
Arguing
that revision of terms of service and upgrading of positions leads to
additional financial requirements, such upward movements remain barred.
“MDAs are
reminded to seek the approval of the National Treasury on funding of the
resultant cost before asking for approval of the relevant government
departments and boards.”
In a blow
to labour unions representing public officers, all Comprehensive Bargain
Agreements with cost implications will have to be approved by the Treasury.
This will
be before the unions engage the Salaries and Remuneration Commission on the
proposed increments or salary adjustments.
“Such
confirmation shall be communicated through the duly signed letters by the
National Treasury principal secretary,” the circular reads.
Yatani has
also ordered MDAs to conduct routine staff and payroll audits to ensure their
accuracy and integrity.
Semi-Autonomous
Government Agencies will also have to report their spending on personnel
emolument every month.
“Officers
are required to submit monthly payroll returns and quarterly performance
reports to the National Treasury,” the CS said of domestic and foreign-funded
projects.
The
Presidential Delivery Unit will also receive quarterly reviews of the project
performance.
Treasury
has further directed accounting officers to follow procurement laws and start
sourcing contractors in goods time to absorb funds allocated to them.
Yatani has further instructed accounting
officers to ensure no forms of unauthorised, irregular, wasteful expenditure is
incurred this financial year.
“Immediate corrective measures and
disciplinary action should be taken against any public officer who commits an
act of financial delinquency,” Yatani said.
He holds that all supplies will have to
be committed against the approved procurement plan based on the approved
budget.
“The provisions of the procurement law
and regulations must be followed in all procurement transactions,” the CS
advised.
Treasury has also directed MDAs to ensure
all commitments for the supply of goods and services are entered into by May
31, 2022.
“No commitments should be entered into
without adequate budgetary provision,” the circular copied to the Auditor
General and Budget Controller reads.
On pending bills, accounting officers
will be required to prepare updated records of all outstanding pending bills
incurred after 2005 and report the same to the National Treasury by July 12.
For better projects uptake, Treasury has
directed concerned officers to appoint officers as project managers and AIE
holders for their respective projects.
MDAs involved in election preparation
will be required to submit details of all election-related spending monthly.
Yatani has further warned that budget
allocations for the Big Four plan and the Post Covid-19 Economic Stimulus
Package will not be diverted, ring-fencing the funds for the budgeted purposes.
“Reallocations from statutory obligations
or specific allocations recommended by the Budget Committee of the National
Assembly is also not allowed,” the circular reads.
The Treasury further directed that all
transactions on the current budget must be carried out in the IFMIS with MDAs
further required to consolidate all annual subscriptions to international
agencies.
Ministries with conditional grants
earmarked for counties have also been directed to prioritise the expenditures
as counties recognize them as revenue sources.
Treasury has further acknowledged the
challenge of litigations arising from contractual breaches, citing the huge
financial risks that follow.
Ministries have thus been asked to have
contractors granted delays in writing and contracts amended in line with the
requests.
“If deemed necessary, the MDA may extend
the time, may impose a delayed penalty,” Yatani said. – The Star
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