The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has identified seven methods through which counties are facilitating payroll fraud, resulting in inflated and unsustainable wage bills across the country.
This revelation followed a raid by EACC detectives on Nandi County government offices over unlawful payments to ghost workers and other payroll irregularities, which also uncovered an additional 352 similar cases nationwide. EACC Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi confirmed the fraud on Friday, noting that many counties grappling with escalating wage bills suffer from Governors seizing control of certain departments, such as County Public Service Boards, to manipulate employment.
Ngumbi pointed out that Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) have neglected their accountability roles, instead engaging in selfish acts of securing jobs for their supporters, family members, and relatives, thereby failing to provide proper oversight of county operations.
The seven ways cited by EACC that counties utilize to perpetrate payroll fraud are as follows:
1. Ghost workers: These are fictitious employees who exist solely on paper and do not perform any duties for the county governments yet receive salaries. They retain a small percentage of these salaries and pass the remainder to their superiors.
2. Over-employment: This involves hiring more staff than necessary, particularly in lower cadres, driven by nepotism, favoritism, and the desire to reward political allies. This practice drains significant public funds for salaries at the expense of development and service delivery.
3. Employment or promotion based on forged academic certificates: EACC reports that some counties, with the assistance of senior officials, treat employment as a means to reward political supporters, relatives, and associates.
4. Retaining employees who have retired or exited the counties on the payroll.
5. Multiple employment: Employees hold more than one job across different counties or institutions.
6. Employment of unqualified individuals.
7. Placing some employees in higher grades to earn above their designated pay scales.
While expressing their commitment to eradicating corruption within counties, the commission emphasized that payroll fraud and the presence of ghost workers are perpetuated by impunity among county officials, which undermines the independence of County Public Service Boards and County Assemblies.
The Thursday operation in Nandi yielded documents and other critical evidence after the County Government failed to comply with the EACC’s order to submit the required documents by September 30, 2024. The EACC noted that the operation produced valuable material to support the ongoing investigation, including the payroll server believed to contain records of ghost workers. The offices affected include those of the County Secretary, the Chief Officer of Finance, the Director of Human Resources, the Payroll Manager, and the officers in charge of Payroll.
