Geoffrey Ruku, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes, has issued a stern warning to state agencies that have not yet implemented the government’s Human Resource Information System (HRIS), threatening to halt their salary payments.
During a public service gathering on Friday, May 29, Ruku disclosed that out of 575 state agencies in Kenya, only 47 have been integrated into the HRIS platform, which he labeled deeply concerning and unacceptable.
The Cabinet Secretary gave human resource managers a two-month deadline to complete the onboarding process, cautioning that non-compliance would result in direct financial repercussions for employees in those agencies.
I address human resource managers present who work with government agencies. If your institution has not yet been integrated into the HRIS, ensure that within the next two months you complete all necessary steps. A time will come when we will cease paying salaries and allowances to agencies not onboarded on the Human Resource Information System,” warned CS Ruku.
The warning encompasses numerous government institutions, such as the National Police Service (NPS), the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), parastatals, public universities, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
The Cabinet Secretary stated that the HRIS platform has been enhanced and reinforced to close loopholes that have permitted payroll fraud to go unchecked across government institutions for years.
He described the disturbing flaws in the current system, noting: ‘In the National Police Service, we have instances where an interdicted officer should no longer receive a salary, yet that payment continues to be deposited into a specific account and lands in someone’s pocket. There are numerous similar cases.’
Additionally, Ruku confirmed that a forensic payroll audit commissioned last year has been finalized, with a comprehensive report now available detailing how public funds have been improperly allocated and the measures needed to rectify these deficiencies.
The audit findings reveal a network of ghost employees receiving salaries without ever reporting for duty, duplicate names across various locations, and irregular allowance payments surreptitiously increasing the public wage bill beyond sustainable levels.
‘The phantom employee who receives a salary without ever reporting to her post, the duplicate names serving across multiple stations, the numerous irregular allowance payments that quietly inflate obligations beyond what any budget can accommodate,’ stated CS Ruku.
The Cabinet Secretary encouraged all human resource managers in attendance to assume personal responsibility for the onboarding process, emphasizing that accountability represents the only route forward for a more efficient and transparent public service.
So far this year, the number of ghost workers identified has fluctuated across different audits. Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu could not verify 596 county employees during recent examinations across various counties and regions, with investigations still in progress.
Additionally, a significant payroll discrepancy worth millions has been noted, while separate local audits identified 1,783 unverified workers and over 1,000 ghost employees in Bungoma County reports.
According to CS Ruku, this initiative aims to halt this trend, which might in the long run put the country’s job market in jeopardy.