Ethnic Imbalance: Five Communities Dominate Over 70% of NSSF Workforce
Five specific communities wield considerable influence over more than 70 percent of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Garissa Today News has established.
Documents presented to the Senate National Cohesion and Equal Opportunities Committee not only expose this ethnic imbalance within government parastatals but also spotlight the prevalence of an aging workforce.
NSSF CEO David Koross revealed to Senators that a substantial majority of the workforce, exceeding 60 percent, falls within the age range of 50 to 60 years old. This trend is attributed to the absence of significant employment recruitment since 1996.
Submission before the Senate Committee, chaired by Marsabit Senator Mohammed Chute, indicates that the Kalenjin Community holds the highest representation in the NSSF workforce at 18.24 percent, equivalent to 199 members out of 1,091. The Kamba Community follows closely with 17.51 percent (191), the Luo Community stands as the third highest with 13.38 percent (146), and the Luhya community closely follows at 12.47 percent, translating to 136 staff. The Kikuyu Community holds 12.47 percent of the workforce, totaling 135 members.
The remaining 44 ethnic groups collectively share the remaining 26.03 percent of positions, with only 22 communities making it onto the list. The Constitution and the National Cohesion and Integration Act of 2008 stipulate that public entities should strive to represent the diversity of Kenya’s people in their staff composition, with no single ethnic community exceeding one-third of the total staff.
The diversity policy released in December 2015 by the Public Service Commission emphasizes the need for ethnic groups to be proportionately represented in state agencies, aiming to address over-representation issues. This policy sets hiring quotas for ethnic groups and disadvantaged classes, such as the disabled.
Constitutionally introduced to counter historical biases favoring tribes associated with those in power, these measures aim to create a more inclusive and representative workforce within public entities.