PSC paid retired civil servants Sh25.7 million in irregular contracts, audit reveals
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has exposed that the commission hired the retirees without competitive recruitment and paid them through manual systems, bypassing the official government payroll.
A new audit has revealed that the Public Service Commission (PSC) employed five individuals, all retired civil servants from the State Department of Public Service and National Treasury, on short-term contracts, paying them nearly half a million shillings monthly each in breach of public service hiring policies.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has exposed that the commission hired the retirees without competitive recruitment and paid them through manual systems, bypassing the official government payroll.
More To Read
- Communications Authority on the spot after audit uncovers asset management failures
- EduAfya audit uncovers 'ghost students', Sh2.3 billion overpayment
- Parliament's delay in enforcing audit reports threatens public funds, Auditor-General Gathungu warns
- MPs demand audit of IEBC’s Sh3.9 billion pending bills
- Sh274 million consultant payment sparks probe into Kenya Power’s last-mile project
- Audit exposes irregular contracts, backdating at Fafi Constituency's NG-CDF Office
The special audit shows that PSC employed the five under local agreement terms between March 2023 and September 2024, at a total cost of Sh25.7 million.
While PSC defended the hiring as a stopgap measure to clear a backlog in State corporations, Gathungu faulted the move, noting it contravened the very human resource policies the commission is mandated to enforce.
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 within just five months.
“The PSC, through the Establishment and Management Consultancy Services Directorate, established five supernumerary positions of management analysts on local agreement terms through a letter Ref. No. PSC/EST/1/(104) dated March 17, 2023, on a short-term employment contract for an initial period of three months on a gross salary of Sh210,000, which was further reviewed to Sh460,947 through a letter Ref. No. PSC/EST/1/1/(1) dated 2 August, 2023, among other benefits,” reads the audit.
However, the Auditor General questioned the salary increment, saying it was unclear what circumstances led to more than doubling their pay in such a short period, with no justification provided.
Gathungu further raised concern over the lack of transparency in the recruitment process, noting that there was no evidence showing how the five retirees were identified or selected, or whether a competitive process was followed.
“Although management explained that the employees were appointed on local agreement contracts after attaining the retirement age due to the rare knowledge, skills and competencies they possessed, no documentary evidence was provided to justify their retention in service beyond the mandatory retirement age,” Gathungu said.
“Management reported that these were stopgap measures to assist in clearing the backlog of human resource instruments for State corporations.”
Despite PSC arguing that the retirees possessed “rare knowledge”, the Auditor General noted that no proof was tabled to support the claim.
PSC’s Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual, 2016, caps retirement age in public service at 60 years and 65 years for persons with disabilities (PWDs), which the hiring violated.
The audit also faulted PSC for paying the retirees manually outside the Integrated Personnel Payroll Database (IPPD), a system designed to curb ghost workers and ensure transparent salary payments.
“Further, the commission processed their salaries amounting to Sh25,712,045 through manual systems other than through the Integrated Personnel Payroll Database (IPPD), which seeks to end the practice of unverified employees,” the audit revealed.
Additionally, Gathungu flagged the lack of documented performance appraisals for the retirees, noting that their contributions were not evaluated even as their contracts were extended up to September 2024.
Top Stories Today
