The National Assembly Cohesion and Equal Opportunities Committee has raised an alarm concerning the recruitment of employees at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
This followed a report by the authority on Thursday, March 14, that detailed that while hiring Revenue Service Assistants, 133 recruits were dropped on account of having HIV or being pregnant.
Further, according to a report by the committee, the recruits were subjected to HIV and pregnancy tests among other insubstantial tests.
KRA employed 1,406 Revenue Service Assistants. The authority’s Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga also told the committee that they faced a lot of political interference in the running of the programs.
“The recruitment for the Revenue Service Assistants was conducted by the Kenya Defense Forces on our behalf,” he indicated.
“The content in your report on why KRA violated the constitution in recruitment of officers is serious and requires an inquiry to get the root cause and reach a decision,” the Committee chair Yussuf Haji said.
The Committee chaired by Yussuf Haji reached this resolution following reports that 133 recruits were dropped after they were subjected to HIV and pregnancy tests among other insubstantial reasons.
Also Read: KRA Ranked Among Best Performing Institutions
Committee Raises Questions Over KRA HIV and Pregnancy Tests
Additionally, the national assembly committee indicated that during the enquiry, its members were angered by the move to subject recruits to the tests.
They said that it was a clear violation of the law and the Authority’s Human Resource guidelines.
Nyeri Town MP, Duncan Mathenge read to the Commissioner General several articles in the constitution on human rights that the authority violated in the recruitment process.
Also, Ndhiwa MP, Peters Owino and his Kaspul counterpart Were Ong’ondo supported the call for an inquiry adding that it was a grave mistake for KRA to dismiss the 133 recruits.
“You violated the rights of the recruits by subjecting them to tests. Your legal team should have advised you that you were breaking the law,” Were said.
“Other State institutions have recruited staff without forcing them to undergo HIV and pregnancy tests. What drove KRA into doing so!” Nominated Mp Irene Mayaka questioned.
Also Read: KRA Responds to Uproar Over Including PIN During KFC Self Order
Other Questions Raised Over the Recruitment Process
At the same time, the committee raised questions on the role of the Kenya Defence Officers (KDF) officers during the recruitment process.
“The recruits were hired as enforcement officers hence the need to use KDF to identify those fit for the job,” KRA commissioner explained.
Subsequently, the committee indicated that it will be conducting an inquiry into employment of 1,406 Revenue Service Assistants.
KRA commissioner did not respond to the matter saying that it was still in court.
