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Sonko goes after Metropolitan boss Badi, PSC over staff transfer


Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko cancelled a meeting called by the newly formed Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS0, saying it violated a ban on public gatherings to tame the spread of Covid-19.

In a hard-hitting letter, Sonko criticised the NMS and the Public Service Commission for summoning 6,052 employees of the Nairobi City County Government to KICC on Monday and Tuesday.

On Friday, PSC Chairman Stephen Kirogo, through a notice, ordered 6,052 county staff to report on Monday and Tuesday from 8:00 am-4:00 pm for documentation and collection of letters of secondment at the Kenyatta International Convention Center.

The governor expressed his displeasure on Saturday, accusing NMS via PSC of exhibiting impunity by ordering county staff to appear at KICC, despite a presidential decree banning public gatherings.

“They have disregarded the great risk they shall be exposing to these employees as the country battles with the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far claimed four (4) lives and infected over 100 people,” Sonko said.

Sonko accused unnamed individuals in the national government of seeking to gain from the new arrangement that saw him cede some county functions, saying NMS has no jurisdiction over county staff.

“As it stands, the responsibility remains with the Nairobi County Public Service Board to notify its employees of the purported secondment. The Public Service Commission, on the other hand, should operate within its mandate, and can only second national government officers to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services,” he said.

Last month, President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Major General Mohammed Badi to head the new Nairobi Metropolitan Services.