At least 1,800 employees of Nandi County have received termination letters as Governor Stephen Sang implements a human resource audit that uncovered a significant and costly payroll issue. The letters, seen by the Star, indicate that these workers were irregularly appointed and entered into the county payroll without adhering to Section 66 of the County Governments Act.
“By the powers conferred upon the County Public Service Board by Section 75 of the County Governments Act, 2012, the termination letter states that their appointment is hereby revoked due to irregularity,” the termination letters read.
The issuance of these letters has sparked anger and fear among the workers, some of whom have threatened to protest and disrupt county operations this week. Governor Sang stated he would not spare even his own relatives or friends if they were found to have secured jobs through illegal means.
“I will implement the human resource audit report fully, without cherry-picking,” Sang declared. “We will clean up this mess once and for all.” He emphasized that anyone involved in criminal activities would face legal consequences, regardless of their connections.
“If it involves relatives of the governor, county executives, or anyone else, they will face the full force of the law because criminals are just that, regardless of who they are related to,” Sang asserted. He noted that he initiated the HR audit and sees himself as the whistleblower on this issue.
Sang explained that much of the county’s resources, which could have been allocated for development, were tied up in an inflated wage bill. The ongoing payroll cleanup is intended to free up those resources and professionalize public services.
He labeled the threats from some workers to disrupt county operations as criminal. “Even though about 1,800 workers have received termination letters, we still have around 3,200 employees who will continue working along with volunteers,” he said. “Anyone attempting to disrupt county services will also face the full force of the law.”
The governor urged anyone with complaints about the process to follow proper procedures and avoid interfering with county operations. He clarified that he did not authorize any illegal employment, stating, “I have no role in hiring except for positions of county executives, chief officers, and advisers.”
Sang reassured the people of Nandi that he would fully commit to implementing the audit report. “By the time we complete this process, we will have a fully professional, efficient, and legally constituted public service to serve the people of Nandi,” he promised.
Names of the affected workers have been removed from the county payroll, meaning they will not receive salaries starting in October. This action follows a human resource audit by the Public Service Commission, which identified significant payroll irregularities and sent the termination letters.
Sang noted that hundreds of individuals, primarily cronies and relatives of top county officials, had been illegally issued employment letters and entered into the payroll. Two weeks ago, he suspended several payroll officers to facilitate ongoing investigations into the irregularities in the payroll management system.
The county should have no more than 3,000 workers, and Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has raised concerns about irregular employment practices. The audit was conducted by a technical team from the Public Service Commission, revealing collusion among some members of the Nandi County Public Service Board and the payroll unit in issuing fake appointment letters.
“All these irregularities resulted in the issuance of fake appointment letters obtained through fraudulent means, which found their way into the payroll system,” Sang explained. He highlighted that this included the use of fake documents and certificates, leading to improper employee placement in job groups and questionable promotions.
