The Parliamentary Cluster on Public Appointments and Commissions has conceded that the Civil Service Commission’s demand for increased funding makes sense, after the commission argued that the K1.8 billion allocated in the 2025/26 national budget is insufficient to meet its operational needs.
Members of the cluster met officials from the commission at Parliament on Monday during post-budget consultations, where the commission appealed for an increase to about K2.4 billion and sought a waiver on the government’s ban on the procurement of vehicles.
Cluster chairperson Felix Njawala acknowledged the concerns, saying most of the commission’s vehicles are very old, with some dating back to 2004 and 2009, making them costly to maintain and operate.
Njawala said the high maintenance costs and fuel consumption of the ageing fleet justify the commission’s request for additional resources to procure a few new vehicles and improve operations.
However, the committee also raised concerns about the slow progress on the commission’s digitisation programme, noting that recruitment processes are still largely manual despite the growing volume of applications.
The commission revealed that a recent advertisement for budget officers attracted more than 870,000 applications, making manual processing cumbersome and time-consuming.
Members of the committee said digitising recruitment would significantly improve efficiency.
Civil Service Commission Secretary Edwin Wotchi said the institution has historically operated with limited funding and often relies on other ministries for support.
He said increasing the allocation to about K2.4 billion would help address transport challenges, sustain recruitment processes, and advance the long-awaited digitisation project being supported by partners including NEPAD and UNDP.
