Outline of the Approval Process and Recruitment Process
The Kenya Revenue Authority had sought approval from the National Treasury and the Public Service Commission for 1,500 posts to recruit revenue service assistants. However, the authority was granted approval to recruit only 1,406 posts in the initial arrangement, after which the recruitment process started. The minimum qualifications of the posts were set at a D+ in KCSE and a maximum age of 35 years.
Audit Findings on Recruitment Irregularities
- Academic Qualifications and Interview Process:
- The audit found that candidates with grades below the minimum requirement of D+ attended the recruitment exercise. At the first aptitude test, 69 such candidates attended with grades below D+. At the second aptitude test, 30 such candidates with grades below D+ attended. This raised a red flag in the recruitment process, specifically in the screening of applications.
- Unconstitutional Recruitment:
- The High Court nullified the hiring of 1,406 staff on the grounds that it was also unconstitutional. According to the court, the exercise was skewed in the favour of the Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities, who made up more than half of the hires, against 32% of the country’s population.
- Data Integrity Issues:
- The audit revealed that data integrity in the e-recruitment system was grossly flawed. Of the 127,117 applications, 3,592 were duplicated, overestimating the total number of applicants. 5,577 applicants had not stated their age, one of the constituting critical aspects for selection, but such applicants were allowed to proceed to the next stage.
- The system allowed submissions with incomplete or erroneous data, such as non-numerical characters in the identity numbers and multiple submissions from applicants.
- Weak Internal Controls:
- The audit also criticized the weak security controls of the e-recruitment system of KRA. Therefore, on reliability, it concluded that information obtained from the system could not be fully trusted.
Court Rulings and Future Actions
- The quashing of the recruitment by the High Court has highlighted the necessity of the KRA observing recruitment procedures that are fair and in ken with the Constitution. The court indicated that the overrepresentation of some communities was unfair and the anomaly ought to be corrected.
- In response to the audit report, the KRA management is improving the control features of its recruitment module to prevent such irregular practices in future.
Implications for Public Recruitment Practices
The findings of the KRA audit will maintain the realization of very strict internal controls yet afford leeway for transparency and fairness under recruitment procedures in the Public Service. By so doing, the notations on these inadequacies in the recruiting procedures of the KRA can therefore be rectified, hence improving its recruitment processes in ways that will attract further confidence upon its respect to the constitutional principles.