Members of Parliament expressed worry on Tuesday over an uneven distribution of job opportunities in the public sector, with some ethnic communities appearing to dominate the service.
During a meeting with Public Service Commission (PSC) officials at the Bunge Towers in Nairobi, the National Assembly Committee on Labour, chaired by Runyenjes lawmaker Karemba Muchagi, had to seek clarification.
The PSC, led by Chairperson Antony Muchiri, was invited by the committee to answer concerns about the commission’s measures to streamline and balance the absorption of various communities in the public service.
According to a report submitted to the committee by the Commission, there was a worrying disparity in employment patterns throughout the country’s various communities.
For example, the report highlighted the Kikuyu community as the ethnic group with the most representation, with 29,978 officers in public service, whereas marginalised communities such as the Gosha, Konso, and Leysan had only two officers each.
While responding to the Committee’s questions, Muchiri stated that the commission has made significant progress towards ensuring regional balance and ethnic inclusivity in accordance with the law.
“39 ethnic communities had normal representation in the 2023 and 2024 financial year, up from 33 ethnic communities in 2016 and 2017, reflecting an 18.2 per cent improvement,” Muchiri informed the committee.
Muchiri also emphasised that the recruitment process takes into account various measures designed to ensure diversity, for instance, the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), gender representation, and consideration of the country of origin of candidates.
“The Commission found it prudent to consider the county of origin of a candidate in a recruitment exercise, for we may end up appropriating more opportunities to one county to the disadvantage of other counties that share the same ethnic community,” Muchiri explained.
Following the meeting, the lawmakers directed the commission to take immediate action to address these disparities and ensure fair representation for all communities moving forward.
Meanwhile, an annual report released by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) in November 2023 revealed that the Kalenjin had the largest share of jobs per ethnic tribe at 15.83 per cent followed by the Kikuyu community at 15.77 per cent.
The NCIC report established that employment in Kenya was not only skewed towards dominant communities, the report further indicated that ten tribes took up 89 per cent of jobs in the country.
