Audit exposes widespread hiring irregularities in eight counties

Thousands of county employees across Nairobi, Samburu and Uasin Gishu are drawing salaries despite being hired in violation of recruitment laws, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed.

In her latest audit report, Gathungu exposed how eight county governments bypassed due process, hiring staff without declaring vacancies, conducting interviews, or verifying qualifications.

The report, covering the 2023/24 financial year, highlights widespread irregularities in the recruitment process in Samburu, Trans Nzoia, Nairobi, Narok, Nandi, Embu, Machakos, and Uasin Gishu counties.

It reveals that employees were added to payrolls without advertisements for their positions, shortlisting of candidates, or proper interviews.

Despite these irregularities, they continue receiving salaries and allowances amounting to millions of monthly shillings. In some instances, Gathungu notes that there was no evidence of vacancy declarations, while in others, crucial employment records were missing.

Among the affected job positions are administrative officers, early childhood development and education (ECDE) teachers, clerical officers, directors, trade development officers and enforcement officers.

Lack of approval

In Samburu, 29 individuals were employed in the Governor’s Delivery Unit without approval from the County Public Service Board (CPSB). The report states that at the time, the 29 employees had been paid Sh60 million.

“At the time, the 29 employees had been paid Sh60 million. Further, the Governor's Delivery Unit under which they have been working was not provided for in the approved organisation structure and the duties and responsibilities of members of the team were not defined,” Gathungu said in the report.

Gathungu said the recruitment violated Section 68 of the County Governments Act, 2012, which mandates the CPSB to maintain a record of all applications received and ensure that these records are accessible for inspection.

Governor Lati Lelelit reportedly created the unit during a period when the county board had no active members, as the previous officeholders' terms had expired.

A Senate committee has since directed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to declare the Governor’s Delivery Unit redundant and recover salaries paid to the officers.

“In the absence of evidence on whether the CPSB was consulted, we direct the EACC to demand a refund from the officers who were recruited to work in the unit. It is illegal,” Senator Moses Kajwang’, who chairs the County Public Accounts Committee said.

In Narok, the report found that 73 clerical officers, eight law enforcement officers, 27 trade development officers, and two administrative officers were irregularly recruited. The county government did not provide evidence of human resource plans or confirmation of whether these vacancies existed within the staff establishment.

“The Public Service Board appointed the employees without conducting any interviews to assess their suitability, contrary to Article 232(1) of the Constitution,” reads the audit.

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No interviews

It also notes that Nairobi County irregularly hired 3,834 employees without advertising positions or conducting interviews.

“The recruitment was not supported with a plan, advertisement, long list and shortlists, interview reports, and score sheets. Therefore, the recruitment did not follow due process,” read the report.

The audit also flagged the appointment of an individual as Director of Infrastructure and Information Security despite lacking the required academic qualifications. Similarly, the hiring of staff for non-existent units within the county government was noted.

In Embu, the CPSB irregularly recruited 911 employees without providing supporting evidence of interviews or shortlisting. In Trans Nzoia, under Governor George Natembeya, the county recruited 258 officers without evidence of vacancy declaration or an established staff framework to guide hiring.

“This was contrary to Section 5(2) of the County Public Service Board Human Resource Manual, 2013, which requires that all vacancies must be declared, including the number of vacancies and whether they are within the authorised establishment,” Gathungu said.

In Nandi, a gross salary of Sh6.5 million was paid to 139 employees whose personal files lacked appointment letters, academic qualifications, and other employment records. An additional 135 staff members, also lacking personal files, were paid via a manual Excel sheet payroll, with no record of KRA PINs, job groups, or official designations.

In Uasin Gishu, led by Governor Jonathan Bii, 181 staff members, including ECDE teachers, were hired without following due process. The report warns that such irregular hiring practices compromise service delivery and increase the financial burden on county governments.

The findings have raised concerns over the integrity of county hiring practices, with calls for stricter enforcement of recruitment laws to prevent future violations.