Following human resource devolution, Machinga District Council has started head count of its staff in devolved sectors to improve its human resource data base and ensure human resource efficiency.
Machinga District Council Principal Administrative Officer, Bissaih Ntayamanja, disclosed this on Monday as the council deployed a team to do the head count.
Human resource devolution follows a financial resource devolution that saw local councils receiving Other Recurrent Transactions (ORT) to its devolved sectors, according to Ntayamanja.
In January this year (2017), human resources devolution started with education, agriculture and health sectors while other sectors such as gender and community development followed later.
Staff members from the council’s secretariat like Education, Agriculture, Health, Gender, Water, Trade, Labour, Youth and Sports sectors were expected to be counted.
“We will be able to compare staff on the payroll and those on the ground,” Ntayamanja said, adding that this was also the best way to flush out ghost workers.
The exercise was done in collaboration with Department of Human Resources Management and Local Government Service Commission with financial support from Local Governance Accountability Programme.
Three teams have been deployed to visit 21 centres in the district where teachers and other extension staff are expected to submit their details from Public Service Regulation 19 and 34.
Staff members will also be required to give details of their academic and professional qualification during the staff head count which is expected to end on 31 October.
“Teachers have to give us their certificate of authority to teach while hospital personnel are required to produce a document of authority to practice,” the Principal Administrative Officer added.
Chabwera Primary School Head Teacher, George Mcheka, welcomed the exercise as he was already aware of the devolution of human resource.
“What remains is to see the advantages of human resource devolution,” Mcheka said while being optimistic that the devolution will improve the education sector.