The government has officially blown the whistle on the "ageing workforce" crisis. In a decisive move to tame the ballooning public wage bill, Principal Secretary for Public Service, Dr. Jane Kere Imbunya, has issued a strict notice enforcing the mandatory retirement age, signaling the end of the road for thousands of civil servants clinging to office past their time.

This is not a suggestion; it is an eviction order. The notice, which affects staff who have attained the mandatory retirement age of 60 years (and 65 for persons with disabilities), directs that they proceed on retirement immediately. The directive comes amidst a wider payroll cleansing exercise, with the PS explicitly stating that letters are being dispatched to the affected officers. The era of "contract extensions" and "special considerations" appears to be over as the state moves to digitize and sanitize its human resource records.

The Payroll Purge

The enforcement is part of a broader strategy to ensure payroll integrity. Dr. Imbunya has also revised the payroll closure date to the 18th of every month, a measure designed to catch "ghost workers" and ensure all statutory deductions are remitted on time. "We cannot have a modern public service running on an archaic and bloated payroll," sources at the ministry revealed. "If you are 60, you go. There are no exceptions."

The move addresses a critical bottleneck: the lack of entry-level opportunities for young Kenyans because senior positions are held by retirees refusing to exit. By clearing the top-heavy payroll, the government aims to create fiscal space and employment avenues for the youth.

• Strict Compliance: The directive aligns with a circular from the Head of Public Service, Felix Koskei, which warned accounting officers against extending the service of retirees, a practice that has been rampant in parastatals.
• The Ghost Worker Menace: By strictly linking the retirement notices to the payroll system (IPPD), the ministry hopes to automatically lock out anyone who should have exited the system, saving the taxpayer billions in illegal salaries.

A Painful Transition

For many civil servants, the notice has caused panic. The culture of extending tenure has been deeply entrenched, and many have failed to plan for life after the service. However, the economic reality of the country leaves no room for sentiment. With the wage bill consuming a staggering portion of national revenue, shedding the dead weight is an economic imperative.

As the letters land on desks across government ministries this week, the message is stark: the clock has run out. The government is downsizing, and it is starting with those who should have left yesterday.