The government has admitted that it is losing billions of shillings every year to rogue workers, managers and cartels that have infiltrated the public service.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku on Monday said a recent audit conducted across government agencies exposed widespread malpractices— including employees using fake academic documents to secure promotions, backdating birth certificates, and drawing double allowances.
In other cases, Mr Ruku revealed, civil servants who reached retirement age years ago are still on the payroll and continue to draw salaries and allowances illegally.
Kenya’s public service, which has for long been plagued by ghost workers , is now reeling under the sting of cartels who have been working in cahoots with rogue HR managers to siphon taxpayers’ money.
"We have reports that some civil servants are earning double allowances, while others have been exempted from paying taxes, and this is costing the government billions of shillings," Mr Ruku told the Nation .
The payroll fraud also involves cases of job group manipulation, where civil servants are irregularly promoted or placed in higher salary brackets within short periods and without following the due process.
Although he did not divulge the numbers, the CS said "hundreds of civil servants" are under investigation.
County governments have not been spared either, with the CS accusing human resources managers aiding theft of public resources.
A recent review of the counties' payrolls by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu revealed that at least 11 county governments retained employees aged above 60 years, breaching Kenya’s mandatory retirement age.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The audit uncovered 406 individuals, who were still in service past the set mandatory retirement age, with city counties of Mombasa (96 overage staffers), Kisumu (79) and Nakuru (77) leading the pack.
An analysis of data from recent reports by the auditor-general and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) corroborate the revelations— painting a picture of a civil service infiltrated by cartels, colluding with civil servants to facilitate unethical human resource practices.
Ms Gathungu, for instance, flagged the continued employment of hundreds of civil servants past the mandatory retirement age of 60 years a practice that blocks hiring of the youth.
A recent audit shows that the Public Service Commission (PSC) paid five retired civil servants Sh25.7 million in an irregular contract.
The Public Service Commission Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual, 2016, sets the mandatory retirement age at 60 years.
The law followed a circular of March 20, 2009, which increased the retirement age from 55 to 60 years, save for parastatal chief executives. An exception is provided for persons with disabilities to exit at 65 years or as may be prescribed by the government.
The Public Service Commission offices at Commission House in Nairobi.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
The Public Service Commission Regulations of 2020 also state that the mandatory retirement age in the public sector shall be 60 years. Lecturers and research scientists serving in public universities are, however, exempted.
The PSC employed the five individuals, all retired civil servants from the State Department of Public Service and National Treasury, on short-term contracts and paid them nearly half a million shillings monthly each, in a breach of public service hiring policies.
The special audit exposed that the commission illegally employed the five under local agreement terms between March 2023 and September 2024.
The report indicates that the retirees were first contracted as management analysts at a monthly salary of Sh210,000 each before their pay was increased to Sh460,947 each within five months.
Although the PSC claimed the officers were appointed under local agreement contracts after attaining the retirement age due to their rare knowledge, skills and competencies, Ms Gathungu questioned the salary increment, saying it was unclear what circumstances led to more than doubling their pay in such a short period.
At the same time, an increasing number of public officers are on the radar of the EACC for using forged certificates from local and foreign universities, and even secondary schools, to get jobs.
A recent joint report by the EACC and the Public Service Commission shows that more than 2000 civil servants used fake academic and professional documents to get jobs in different ministries and parastatals.
The report further shows that during a verification exercise conducted in public entities, out of the 53,000 certificates verified across 91 public institutions, approximately 1280 certificates were flagged out as fake.
To address the crisis, Mr Ruku said the ministry is working with the EACC to investigate all the cases of payroll fraud, adding that those found culpable would be sacked and charged in court.
“We have introduced an App that captures all work situations in government agencies , and this will come in handy in addressing the current mess in the public service. We are also working with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Institute of Human Resource Management to ensure those who are engaged in payroll fraud are punished,” he said.
The CS, at the same time, put counties and government agencies on notice over failure to implement the Unified Human Resources Information System, which seeks to address wastage in the government.
“We have partnered with the Institute of Human Resource Management to work with us in addressing challenges in the government as one way of improving service delivery,” he said.
The CS has directed ministries and departments to adhere strictly to the mandatory retirement age and implement proper succession plans.
Over 43,000 civil servants are, for instance, expected to retire between 2024 and 2029 to create job opportunities for the youth.
