A needs analysis for the retrenched civil Servants in Kisii district

Abstract

The study addresses the needs of retrenched civil servants in Kisii Central District - Kenya. Retrenchment was the staff right sizing exercise carried out in all government ministries as part of the World Bank conditionality on the civil service reform programme. In the year 2001, over 48,829 civil servants had lost their jobs. Since the massive civil servants down sizing programme, a problem has emerged in society. The government carried out the retrenchment exercise with little knowledge on the effects on the retrenchees and the wide spillover effects on the society. The retrenchment hence prompted the investigation of the unexplored economic and social dimensions impact of retrenchment on the. victims. In order to understand the phenomenon of retrenchment, the Rational Choice Theory and the Structural Functionalism theory was used. the broad objective of the study was to find the needs of retrenched workers. The specific objectives therefore focused on training offered by the government and its relevance, the perception of retrenchees towards job loss, determination of their specific needs and adjustment to their unemployed status. Lastly, the objective of determining possibilities of getting alternative jobs was looked at. IX In this study, a methodology was developed to identify the needs of retrenched civil servants. Central Kisii District was selected purposively. A snow balling procedure was used to sample the respondents based on age, gender and cadre. A sample size of 60 was used out of the 475 retrenchees in Kisii in the year 2000. The data collecting instrument was a questionnaire with open and closed questions, key informants and a focused group discussion was also used to collect data as well as desktop research. The units of analysis were both male and female retrenchees of all available cadres. In data analysis both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. In qualitative data narratives were used while in quantitative data analysis, summary measures of frequencies and percentages were applied. The major findings of the study indicated that 93% of the retrenchees had dependants to support in school and that they were in shock and disbelief, however, 13.3% had gotten alternative employment and have taken the misfortune and decided to move on with their lives. The retrenchment package was perceived by 65% of the respondent as inadequate. The training offered by the government in the Districts was viewed as relevant but other needs were expressed by the retrenchees if they have to survive in their post retrenchment lives. The needs varied from social to economic, like finances, health care and social welfare.In this study various recommendations were made. It was recommended that the government should make clear and adequate policies on retrenchment, measures should be put in place through proper Human Resource Planning and forecasting to avoid sudden job loss. It was recommended that Economic empowerment was necessary through arranged financial assistance in the form of loans, social services and land. The study recommended a further research comparing the needs of the 1993 retrenchment cohort with that of 2001 to assessthe impact of time as an intervening variable.