NAIROBI, Kenya – A government payroll audit has uncovered startling irregularities, including individuals listed as public servants before they were born, minors receiving salaries and millions of shillings paid through questionable accounts, exposing weaknesses in the management of State funds.
The findings, which estimate payroll fraud and related leakages have cost taxpayers Sh6.2 billion, have prompted the government to intensify its payroll clean-up exercise and tighten controls across the public service.
The audit revealed cases where employment records showed some individuals had been recruited into government service before their dates of birth, while others were listed as employees despite being below the legal working age.
“There were issues of employees who were employed before they were born. Some civil servants were employed before the age of 18 years,” Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku stated.
The investigation also uncovered cases where multiple government employees were linked to the same bank accounts, raising concerns over the true beneficiaries of salary payments.
“There are employees who are sharing bank accounts. There are employees who do not have bank accounts in the system, but the records show they are receiving salaries,” Ruku said.
The National Police Service payroll was among the areas flagged, with auditors finding that Sh313.6 million had been deposited into one personal account within a single financial year. The report noted that the identities of the individuals who ultimately benefited from the payments remained unclear.
Investigators also identified payments amounting to Sh20 million made to employees whose bank account details were missing from official records.
“There are employees without bank accounts, yet they have been paid salaries,” Ruku said.
The Department of Immigration was also highlighted in the audit after officials found unverified salary arrears running for more than six months. About Sh31.5 million was paid out without sufficient supporting documents.
The audit further revealed instances of duplicate salary payments and cases where employees received money for periods when they were not actively working.
“Why would the government accumulate salary arrears of over six months? Why?” Ruku posed.
The Public Service Ministry says it is moving to address the loopholes through the mandatory migration of all ministries, departments, agencies and State corporations to the upgraded Integrated Human Resource and Payroll System.
Officials say the centralised platform will help eliminate ghost workers, improve accountability and ensure that all public servants are accurately captured in the government payroll system.