Governor Kihika kicks off biometric registration exercise to weed out ghost workers

Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika has kicked off a biometric registration exercise in a bid to get rid of ghost workers in her county government.

In the exercise that is expected to establish efficiency in public resource management, Governor Kihika said it will ensure that all public servants on the county payroll are accounted for.

“This will not only give us a good picture of the capabilities we have in our service, but also provide us data on how we can better deploy these capabilities,” said Kihika.

She explained that the acquired data would be used to build a digital registry that would enhance transparency in all human resource management processes, including promotions.

Kihika’s move was brought about by a previous audit in her predecessor’s administration that reportedly revealed that the Nakuru County government was paying an average of Ksh.1.13 million annually to ghost workers.

The county boss encouraged all staff members to cooperate and adhere to the short-term exercise, while indicating that it would be conducted across all sub-counties.

Nakuru County workers will be required to present an original national identity card, a completed biometric data form, original academic and professional certificates, letters of first and current appointments, a current pay slip and a birth certificate.

The devolved unit presently has more than 6,000 staff on its payroll, most of whom are said to be carryovers from the defunct municipal and county councils.