TSC under fire for slow recovery of Sh358 million in overpaid salaries

Lawmakers have intensified calls for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to accelerate the recovery of Sh358 million in overpaid salaries to teachers.

Members of the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday expressed concerns that the current progress reported by TSC is inadequate, warning that taxpayer funds could be at risk if the issue is not swiftly addressed.

The push for urgent action comes after the TSC responded to an audit query regarding the excess payments, revealing that it has yet to recover the full amount.

In a statement, the commission explained that it is recovering the overpayments at a rate of one-third of the respective employees' basic salary, in accordance with the Employment Act.

A key challenge, however, lies in recovering funds from teachers who are no longer employed by the commission.

TSC acknowledged that for teachers who have left their positions, the overpayments are being recovered progressively through mechanisms outlined in the commission's overpayment policy.

Nancy Macharia, the TSC CEO, assured MPs that demand letters have been issued, and the commission is actively following up with the former employees to ensure the repayment of the excess salaries.

The commission has also engaged with cooperative societies where some of the teachers are members, asking these entities to release the teachers' savings to the commission.

TSC is also working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kenyan embassies to recover funds from teachers who are working abroad.

Despite these efforts, the commission noted that it could take more than a year to fully recover the funds, especially when dealing with external agencies and pension schemes for retired teachers.

"This may also take more than a year before TSC receives the funds," Macharia said, responding to MPs' concerns over the delay in the recovery process and its impact on the national budget.

Weak controls

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu's audit report for the year ending June 30, 2023, flagged weak controls in the recovery of overpaid salaries.

Although some progress has been made, Gathungu emphasised the need for TSC to intensify its efforts to recover the outstanding amounts.

The excess payments have been accumulating over the years due to outdated and inefficient manual systems previously in place.

During the year under review, TSC managed to recover more than Sh108 million through various means, including payroll deductions and other recovery channels.

However, PAC has urged the commission to do more, issuing a six-month ultimatum in 2020 for TSC to recover the overpaid amounts.

Documents presented in Parliament revealed alarming cases of overpayments, with three teachers alone receiving a total of Sh12 million in excess salaries over periods as short as four years.

One notable case involved a teacher in Kericho who was paid Sh4.3 million between July 2016 and December 2020.

The commission has since issued a formal demand for repayment, warning the teacher that failure to settle the amount would result in recovery procedures being initiated without further notice.

The issue of excess salary payments has raised alarm among lawmakers, who are pressing TSC to expedite its recovery efforts to free up funds for other critical government needs.