Governor Stephen Sang announced that over 1,100 Nandi county government employees who were hired illegally have been dismissed. He stated that the County Public Service Board is in the process of revoking all employment letters that were issued improperly. The affected employees, whose names were irregularly added to the county payroll, will no longer receive salaries starting this month.
This decision follows a human resource audit by the Public Service Commission, which uncovered a major payroll scam. The audit revealed that hundreds of workers, mostly friends and relatives of senior county officials, were unlawfully issued employment letters and added to the payroll.
“We have started the process of implementing the report from the audit, and those affected will be notified in accordance with established regulations,” said Sang.
He noted that the workers in question have received approximately Sh2 billion over the past six years, causing the county wage bill to exceed 75 percent of the budget, leaving limited resources for development.
Sang also dismissed a circulating document claiming that 1,800 employees would be affected. “It’s not authentic. Staff personal information and data are protected and cannot be shared outside the provisions of the law,” he clarified.
The governor emphasized that individuals will be informed directly, following proper government procedures. “I therefore confirm that the document circulating is not genuine or an official document from the county government,” he said.
Sang warned against the unauthorized dissemination of personal data, stating, “Those generating, manipulating, and sharing personal information relating to staff or individuals are committing offenses under the law.”
He assured county employees that there would be no general salary freeze and said an update on the implementation of the HR audit report would be provided in due course.
Governor Stephen Sang declared, “This decision will be implemented by ensuring that the affected individuals will have their names expunged from the payroll, and therefore no salary will be paid accordingly.” He noted that the audit, conducted at his request, revealed several serious issues.
The audit uncovered that the County Public Service Board, in collusion with the payroll unit, had illegally issued employment letters. Other irregular practices included the use of fake documents, such as counterfeit certificates to obtain jobs, arbitrary placement of employees in job groups, and questionable promotions.
Some employees advanced by four job groups in just two years without justification, while others remained stagnant in the same grade for over eight years without any promotion. These practices contradicted recommendations from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, which were outlined during the Third National Wage Bill Conference in April.
“All these irregularities led to the issuance of fake appointment letters through fraudulent means, which were then entered into the payroll system,” Sang explained.
Two weeks ago, Sang announced that several payroll officers had been suspended to facilitate investigations. Some of these suspended officers are currently being questioned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), with reports emerging that some irregularly hired employees had paid bribes of up to Sh400,000.
Sang urged those with irregular appointments to visit the complaints desk set up in each department to explain their situations. “We are going to implement this report fully, and anybody who played a role in this flawed process will face the consequences,” the governor stated.
The audit revealed that the payroll system had swelled the number of employees to over 4,430, although the county was only supposed to have a maximum of 3,000 workers. Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has consistently raised concerns about irregular employment practices in the county.
