United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

DISTRICT BASED RECRUITMENT POLICY (DBRP)

The Problem:

Overview

The District Based Recruitment Policy (DBRP) was conceived as a mechanism to revive disadvantages experienced by communities in marginalized areas of Kenya as regards access to jobs in the Civil Service. In the long run it should promote equity nationally, and reinforce service delivery in the affected regions, besides boosting local Commercial activities both of Kenya’s lard surface is categorized as marginalized.

Kenya is a geographically diverse country with great variations in environmental and resource endowment. Developmental policies implemented by the colonial government did little to achieve countrywide equitability in access to resources and opportunities that support livelihoods.

This set the stage for regional imbalances which left certain communities at a relative disadvantage. One of the areas affected was education, and by extension, competitiveness in employment in the various sectors of the economy, including the Public Service.

Despite numerous impressive transformations in the post independence economy, some regions of the country and the lot of certain communities did not benefit at all.

It is against this background that the Ministry of State for Public Service set out to make concessions on requirements for appointment into the Public Service, for communities in Arid and Semi Arid Lands) (ASAL) areas and other marginalized regions of the country.

Recruitment of Civil Servants is carried out under the Service Commissions Act, Cap 185 of the Laws of Kenya, which vests powers of appointment on the Public Service Commission of Kenya. However, for lower level appointments such as Job Groups ‘A’ to ‘F’, the Public Service Commission of Kenya has delegated these powers to Authorized Officers in Ministries and Departments. The processes which lead to recruitment to these posts into the Civil Service is centred at respective Ministry headquarters. The practice has been that vacant posts at all the levels are centrally advertised by Authorized Officers on the basis of guidelines set in the respective Schemes of Service/Career Progression Guidelines. Thereafter, the selection process is also undertaken at the headquarters.

It is observed that the current system is not responsive to local needs and representation. The District Based Recruitment Policy was therefore, introduced to complement the current system by decentralizing recruitment of staff in all cadres in Job Groups “A” to “F” such as Drivers, Support Staff/Cleaning Staff, Clerical Officers, Reception Assistants, Plant Operators, Artisans, Security Warders, Mortuary Attendants etc. It will also address regional and historical imbalances.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Benefits The District Based Recruitment Policy will address regional imbalances which left certain communities at a disadvantage. Of particular interest is the education sector and by extension, chances of employment in the Public Service. A waiver on the standard entry requirements contained in the various Schemes of Service will be allowed in order to grant opportunities to communities in rural areas. The District Based Recruitment policy will balance staff numbers in the districts because those posted there are indigenous and will not be seeking unnecessary transfers from there. There will therefore be a high retention of officers in such areas thereby improving service delivery and boost the local economy. Further, de-centralized advertising will cater for candidates, from districts who may not have access to the information regarding advertisements and who may also lack the financial ability to prepare and participate in interviews, at the Ministry headquarters, that have previously been centralized. It has been the case that posts in Ministries have not been disaggregated to the lowest functional Units, thereby giving no indication of area of deployment. Consequently, those appointed are usually deployed to districts without due regard to the locals in those areas. This Policy will reverse this trend. In districts where non-local staff is predominant, there is the erroneous association of government with people perceived to be “outsiders”. Having their own locals in Government will endear the locals to Government and lead to local development. As regards ASAL and other marginal regions, the Ministry of State for Public Service receives numerous requests for waiver of entry requirements into various schemes of Service to facilitate appointment into the Civil Service and subsequent advancement. Failure to grant such requests, results in low intake of marginalized communities during employment, even in districts where they predominate. The educational disadvantage affecting ASAL and other marginal regions has become evident over the years, in persistent poor performance in national examinations. The same is also true for the Proficiency Examinations for promotion of Clerical Officers. To compound the problem, these districts have low retention of officers who hail from mainstream districts. It is envisaged that an increased number of locally recruited staff in the districts will contribute towards the attainment of the political, economic and social pillars of Vision 2030 through propagation of issue based and people centered politics; economic empowerment at the grassroots; and equitable social development across the county.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Solution Proposal, Implementers and Stakeholders The Ministry of State for Public Service is charged with the responsibility of providing strategic leadership and guidance to the public service on human resource management and development. One of its core functions encompasses the formulation of human resource management and development policies, rules and regulations in the Public Service. The Ministry however designs these policies based on changing global trends, government policy directives and customer demands. The DBRP emanated from agitation by members of Parliament and Vision 2030 whose attainment will require economic empowerment at the grassroots and equitable social development across the country. The policy had to be discussed at Cabinet level for approval. The Ministry together with Public Service Commission thereafter released a Circular to the Service for implementation. Following this, Authorized Officers in Ministries/Departments have mainstreamed the process in their respective Ministries based on the guidelines issued to them. Citizens on the other hand have been keen on the implementation of this policy and have through their elected representatives continued to interrogate the process. It is well known that policies can be formulated but if they lack the goodwill at implementation, they usually fade away. This policy will facilitate the roll out of the new Constitution which decentralizes most government services through the forty seven (47) Counties.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
Strategies, Main objectives, and Role Players. The DBRP was formulated to address gaps and disparities in recruitment practices within the Service. The key objectives were: Ensure appropriate staffing and retention levels in all district in Kenya; build the confidence of local communities in Government; alleviate the stress of deploying lower cadre staff for from their home regions; create avenue of national distribution of wealth by strengthening human capital in the district; and contributing towards attainment of social, Political and Economic Pillars of Vision 2030 by providing the means of achieving high quality life to all its citizens. It was agreed that the policy would be implemented through the following strategies: issue of guidelines on how to practically address the policy (copy attached); shift more responsibilities on recruitment to districts and make concessions on requirements for appointment into the Public Service to ensure the disadvantaged groups are catered for; waive requirements in Schemes of Service where a Ministry/Department is not able to attract qualified candidates based on the set standards; carry out comprehensive workload analysis to determine staff requirements at all levels including a breakdown of posts to the lowest service delivery point as well as functional Unit; post advertisements in the print media at all district headquarters for maximum advantage to potential candidates, circulate copies to chiefs and place others at any other suitable centres; display list of successful candidates at district headquarters and at chiefs’ offices; take into account gender equity to ensure 30% ratio for employment of either gender is guaranteed; form coordination Units in regions to facilitate induction/upgrading/technical skills training; provide for audit of the policy once every two (2) years by Public Service Commission of Kenya; transfer staff within a region after serving in one station for three (3) years in line with the existing policy and Ministry of State for Public Service to provide central coordination in collaboration with the relevant Ministry/Department headquarters and make budgetary provisions for training. These initiatives were established following consultations at Cabinet level, with Permanent Secretary, Secretary to Cabinet and Head of Public Service, the Public Service Commission of Kenya and the Ministry of State for Public Service. Similarly user Ministries/Departments were consulted in order to draw their ownership of the policy.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Key Development, Implementation Steps, and Chronology The DBRP was developed following concerns by government and elected representatives that some regions of Kenya and specifically some communities do not feature in government employment. This issue was brought to the Permanent Secretary, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of Public Service who directed Permanent Secretary in charge of HRM Policies in the Service to prepare a policy paper on the same On completion, the policy paper was circulated to the Ministry’s other Departments; select PSs/Authorized Officers and the Public Service Commission whose role includes recruitment in the Civil Service. Comments on the document were incorporated and a memorandum for presentation to the Cabinet by Minister of State for Public Service prepared. Following Cabinet decision the document was approved for implementation. Consequently, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of State for Public Service released a Circular letter to the Service on this policy shift which was supplemented by another from the Public Service Commission issuing guidelines. Ministries/Departments were henceforth requested to adhere to the new policy in all their recruitment matters for the specified levels in the grading structure in Job Groups ‘A’ – ‘F’. This requirement compelled Ministries/Departments to advertise vacancies, shortlist, interview and inform successful candidates as per the guidelines provided.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Obstacles Development and approval of the policy had goodwill from all managers and therefore was delivered within record time. The main difficulties were encountered during actual implementation where the minds of implementers were unwilling to depart from known practices. This rigidity and unwillingness is a major drawback to the streamlining of the recruitment process. The policy expects that advertisements will reach the local levels thereby increasing transparency. This is however, considered an added responsibility due to the larger number of applicants. Another obstacle encountered relates mainly to identification of locals. This has in some cases caused unhealthy encounters in the working environment. The other technical bit has had to do with inappropriate methods of determining workload in order to establish optimal staffing levels. Such technical analysis requires capacity in terms of numbers and skills. Workload analysis has hence been carried out haphazardly and in fewer Ministries than earlier anticipated.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Resources Resources Implementation of the policy was mainly based on existing budgetary provisions in line Ministries and in line with Treasury Circulars. During development of the policy select Ministry staff prepared the document, sample Permanent Secretary/Authorized Officers and policy makers at Public Service Commission of Kenya examined the document. The Ministry of State for Public Service was expected to make budgetary provisions for training in order to standardize and effectively coordinate the processes of implementing the policy. The policy envisages a situation where all Ministries/Departments would invest more in training staff to undertake workload analysis as a means of improving accuracy in determination of optimal staffing levels.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Sustainability and Transferability The DBRP is currently in use in the entire Civil Service. Efforts to roll it out to State Corporations and Commissions are on the way. However, in specific Commissions such as Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) the practice of recruiting full time or part time staff at all levels draws reference from the DBRP. Over time it is hoped that the policy will be introduced to all government agencies. It is noteworthy to indicate that the Constitution clearly stipulates that “the state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth (Art. 27(4)). This article will easily operationalize the policy in the National and County Governments.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Impact and Lessons The policy draws its success from goodwill as espoused by Government, the background that informed its formulation i.e. the need to reach out to those areas that have not been reached forty eight (48) years after independence; the Vision 2030 whose intents include equitable distribution of resources and the general acceptance by Civil Servants on the need to implement the policy. In addition, the Public Service Commission is an observer in the process thus providing the interface for feedback through monitoring and evaluation.


Institution Name:		MINISTRY OF STATE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		TITUS NDAMBUKI
Title:		PERMANENT SECRETARY
Telephone/ Fax:		+254-020-2227411
Institution's / Project's Website:		+254-20-2210192
E-mail:		jckavua@yahoo.com
Address:		P.O. BOX 30050
Postal Code:		00100
City:		NAIROBI
State/Province:		NAIROBI
Country:		Kenya

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information