Audit Exposes Recruitment and Payroll Irregularities in Sakaja’s Administration

 

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has flagged over 3,800 employees hired under Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration after an audit found that their recruitment lacked transparency, proper documentation, and adherence to public service rules.

Gathungu’s 2023/2024 financial year report indicated that the process skipped key steps including advertizing vacancies, employment plans, longlists, shortlists, interview reports, and score sheets. As a result, it is unclear how these staff were recruited or whether the positions existed in the county’s official staff establishment.

“Recruitment was done for cadres that could not be traced in the staff establishment, scheme of services and IPPD. These included Chief Executive Officers for City County Referral Hospitals. In addition, there was no clarity on the minimum requirement of the grade,” Gathungu reported.

The report also exposed that the county irregularly continued paying salaries to dismissed employees. Thirteen former staff members received backdated salaries for periods of up to two years without justification or disclosure of the total amounts paid.

According to the Auditor General, the county failed to stop these payments within the required 10-day period mandated by the Public Service Human Resource Policy, 2016. She added that, “Report of absence from duty without leave or reasonable or lawful cause by the immediate supervisor to the Human Resource Department was not submitted within the stipulated timeline of 24 hours of no trace.”

Payroll Irregularities

The audit also uncovered multiple irregular alterations in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD). Some officers had their basic salaries changed several times within the year, with one officer’s salary adjusted six times. Auditor General Gathungu found that 3,216 officers changed job groups more than once, and 24 of them shifted three times.

In addition, three officers had their payroll numbers linked to different national ID numbers at various times, 24 officers had payroll numbers tied to different tax PINs, and 197 officers had their birth dates altered multiple times.

The report further highlighted cases where officers were appointed to senior positions without meeting the required academic qualifications or experience. One officer was appointed Director of Infrastructure and Information Security despite lacking a Master’s degree in Computer Science or any ICT-related discipline, and without completing a strategic leadership development course of at least four weeks.

Another officer, appointed Assistant Director of Infrastructure and Information Security, had never served as a Principal ICT Officer (J/G N) or in an equivalent public service position for the required minimum of three years. Records also showed the officer was a Computer Programmer (J/G N) without the necessary Master’s degree.

Unjustified Promotions in Nairobi County

Additional examples revealed by the audit include an officer promoted to Assistant Director of Infrastructure and Information Security (Job Group P) without the required prior service. A Senior ICT Officer was appointed despite previously serving as a security warden in Job Group D rather than holding the role of ICT Officer I or an equivalent position.

The report also highlighted a Deputy Director of Cultural Development (Job Group Q) who had not completed the mandated three years as Senior Assistant Director of Culture or in a comparable role, having only been appointed Assistant Director of Culture Development in April 2022.

Another officer, appointed Principal ICT Officer in May 2023, had never served as Chief ICT Officer or in an equivalent position for the required three-year period.

BY RICHARD KAMAU/Nairobi Wire