A new battlefront has opened in the war for the soul of devolution. The Public Service Commission (PSC) is pushing for radical legislative changes that would grant it the power to recruit, transfer, and manage top county officials, effectively clawing back a significant chunk of power from Governors.

The proposal, contained in a draft bill currently circulating in government circles, argues that the current system of "political appointees" running county departments has bred incompetence, nepotism, and ethnic balkanization. The PSC wants to standardize the recruitment of County Chief Officers and Directors, transforming them into a professional cadre of "inter-governmental" workers who can be deployed anywhere in the republic.

"Restoring Sanity" or "Killing Devolution"?

PSC proponents argue this is about professionalism. "You cannot have a County Chief Officer for Health who is a former campaign manager with no medical background," a source at the Commission confided. "We want a standardized public service where a brilliant engineer from Turkan can serve as a Chief Officer in Kwale. This is how we build national cohesion."

However, the Council of Governors (CoG) is expected to fight this tooth and nail. For Governors, the power to hire (and fire) their top team is the essence of their executive authority. Stripping them of this power would reduce them to "glorified clerks," managing staff they did not choose and cannot discipline.

• The Ghost of Centralization: Critics see this as a Trojan horse for the National Government to regain control over the devolved units. By controlling the bureaucracy, Nairobi could effectively control the counties, bypassing the elected Governors.
• The Transfer Dilemma: The proposal to transfer officers between counties is particularly contentious. While it mimics the National Government Administration Officers (NGAO) structure, it ignores the local political realities that devolution was meant to address. A "foreigner" imposed by Nairobi might face hostility in a politically charged county environment.

The Stakes for the Wananchi

For the ordinary citizen seeking a business permit or hospital drugs, the squabble is secondary to service delivery. If the PSC plan ensures that qualified professionals run county dockets, the public might support it. But if it simply creates another layer of bureaucracy in Nairobi, it will be rejected.

As the bill heads to Parliament, expect a fierce showdown. This is not just an administrative tweak; it is a constitutional wrestle over who truly runs the counties—the people we elected, or the permanent bureaucracy in Nairobi.