Earlier this year, a report tabled in Parliament indicated that the Kamba, Kalenjin, Kikuyu, Luo and Luhya control 74.9 per cent of the 1307 jobs at the retirees’ investment fund.
Kenyan political elites only fight ethnicity on political rallies but things on the ground are totally different. At NSSF, Kenya’s big five ethnic groups dominate the workforce at the National Social Securities Fund. Other Kenyan’s have been squeezed out others from opportunities at the State-controlled investment fund.
Together the 5 groups hold 980 jobs at the agency, leaving the other 43 ethnic groups to share the remaining 327 slots (25% of remaining positions.)
NSSF human resource manager Carolyn Okul told National Assembly Committee on National Cohesion that the reason behind this is because the marginalized groups do not apply as much as the adverts put out to encourage all to do so.
Kambas account for 17 % of job positions at the NSSF, Kalenjin at 16.8%, Kikuyu at 14.6%, Luo at 14.1%and Luhya at 12.2%. In terms of the ratio between the national population and employment proportion in NSSF, Kambas, Kalenjin and Luos are over-represented.
Most senior managers at the NSSF are on acting capacity, which MPs noted was a matter of concern since it has a bearing on efficiency at the agency.
This revelation comes at a time the Auditor-General Edward Ouko in his annual general reports noted the NSSF has hit hard ground in projects running into billions of shillings with legal and other barriers occasioned by bad decisions. In November 2011 NSSF sold a piece of land and only earned a tenth of the sale price without taking action to get the rest of the money paid.
The fund has also been losing billions of shillings to a few crooks who enjoy their connection to cartels who have an appetite to paralyse anything they touch.
