By Martin Masai
Machakos County government has halted deployment of staff without the authority of the county secretary Dr Muya Ndambuki.
The clampdown comes as over enthusiastic Chief Officers embarked on frequent tranfers to flex their authority, particularly within the ministry of finance.
" Effective immediately, do not issue any deployment letters until further notice from this office" ordered Dr Ndambuki, who also is the Head of the County Public Service.
The letter to all Chief Officers went on " Please prepare a report of all deployed officers by your offices from August 2022 todate, including name, date of employment, position at employment, position deployed as, location, date of deployment (and) name of supervisor after deployment ". The reports were due on June 10, 2024. We were not able to verify compliance with this edict.
The order comes as revenue officers were being moved again after an initial shake-up that followed the employment of over 400 officials.
The order by Dr. Ndambuki comes as nine senior revenue officials of the Machakos County Government are holding their breaths as they end three months without assignment.
Sources within the governor's office say the memo from Ndambuki was initially contemplated when Director of Enforcement Francis Munyambu ordered transfers of 11 enforcement officers within a week of his appointment- meaning he knew very little about the department.
The letter by Munyambu,purporting to be Chief Officer for Inspectorate Enforcement and Fire Fighting, was curiously signed for him by his son, who, incidentally, is the Deputy Commander of the County Inspectorate!
At the time, the CO'S office was vacant after its occupant- Col(Rtd) Mbithi Wathi was moved to the Innovation docket after a physical encounter with Majority Leader Nicholas Nzioka at the Devolved Units offices.
Dr.Ndambuki the swiftly appointed Mercy Mutua to act as CO and halted the transfers. A recruitment process for a chief officer is currently under way, and Munyambu, a former Nairobi police chief and senator aspirant for Machakos, is billed to take the post.
The CS sent the memo to halt new deployment as the new Chief Officer for Revenue Collection Zipporah Mutunga, and the new Director of Revenue Otieno Otieno went around the Sub Counties introducing the newly deployed officials.
The nine officials were recalled from their stations without any reason provided. The Anchor has established that Finance Minister Onesmus Kuya had identified them as the reason the county was unable to raise its Kes 4 bn own Revenue target.
" He gave us no reason. He remained adamant that they must go, along with former Chief Officer Mike Senga, so that he has complete control in revenuecollection, " said a colleague of Kuyu who prefers to remain unnamed.
Mr Kuyu told the Anchor that the officials' fate is in the hands of the CS. " He is the one who deploys public servants, not me," he said.
An inquiry by The Anchor at the County Public Service Board found that the county establishment still has the position of Senior Revenue Officers (SROs)- whose role is clearly described.
This flies in the face of claims by Mr Kuyu in a WhatsApp post to officials that the post and level of SROs (Senior Revenue Officers) has been temporarily suspended.
Since the recall, the role is performed by Ward Administrators and Coordinators.The cordinators are cadre of political operatives that Governor Wavinya Ndeti is still trying to fit into her government as a reward to their loyalty during her campaigns.
Both groups do not have any training or knowledge on revenue collection.
Since the recall, one of the officials has since retired.The other officials, who are permanent and pensionable, are also nearing retirement. They await their fate with each new day.Sources say the officials routinely show their faces at the County Headquarters to remind officialdom that they are still waiting out there.
