Relief for officers as new Bill provides for inter-county tranfer

County public officers could soon be transferred from one county to another without being forced to resign, if a new law currently before the Senate is enacted.

The proposed County Governments (Amendment) Bill, 2026 seeks to introduce a legal framework to facilitate the movement of staff across the 47 devolved units while protecting their employment benefits.

The Bill is currently under consideration by the Senate’s Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Currently, there is no law that provides for the transfer of public officers from one county to another.

Officers seeking to move between counties are often required to resign from their positions before securing employment in another county government.

The devolved governance structure, established under the 2010 Constitution,recognises both the national government and the 47 countiesas distinct but interdependent entities.

The constitution also encourages cooperation and consultation between the two levels of government in carrying out their respective mandates.

Currently, transfers of public officers within the national government are governed by the Public Service Commission Act, which requires recommendations from authorised officers and approval by the Public Service Commission.

Such transfers must be justified and undertaken in a manner that enhances service delivery.

However, while the County Governments Act, 2012 establishes county public service boards to oversee human resource management in counties, it does not expressly provide for inter-county transfers of public officers.

The proposed amendment seeks to address this gap by establishing a structured framework that would allow officers to move between county governments without losing benefits such as pension entitlements.

The Bill also aims to improve efficiency in service delivery by allowing counties to share expertise and technical skills.

Under the proposed law, a county public officer would be required to serve at least three years at a duty station before becoming eligible for transfer to another county.

However, such transfers would still be subject to the discretion and approval of the respective county public service boards.

A review by the Senate committee of human resource policies in counties such as Makueni, Kisumu, Mombasa, Kitui, Narok, Garissa, Mandera and Nairobi shows that most counties already provide for transfers in their administrative manuals.

These provisions generally allow officers to move between the civil service, county public service or other public institutions.

In most cases, the authority to approve transfers rests with the county public service board, although some counties require requests to be submitted through the county secretary or other authorised officers.

The committee also said that many county policies link transfer approvals to compliance with pension and retirement regulations, including provisions under the Public Service Superannuation Scheme Act and the Retirement Benefits Authority Act.

Despite these provisions, the committee observed significant gaps in the current system.

Human resource policies vary widely across counties, with different procedures and documentation requirements. None of the reviewed policies provides clear timelines for processing transfer requests.

Additionally, most county frameworks do not specify the minimum period an officer must serve before qualifying for transfer.

The committee said that the absence of a uniform statutory framework has resulted in inconsistencies in how counties handle transfer requests, with most relying on administrative guidelines that differ from one county to another.

If enacted, the proposed amendment would introduce a standardised legal framework to guide inter-county transfers while preserving the authority of county public service boards to approve or decline such requests.