EACC reveals 7 ways county staffers steal funds through payroll fraud

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has revealed seven ways through which counties are promoting payroll fraud, leading to bloated and unsustainable wage bills in the country.

The revelation, which came a day after EACC detectives raided Nandi County government offices over unlawful payments to ghost workers and other payroll irregularities, also saw another 352 similar cases confirmed countrywide.

EACC Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi on Friday confirmed the fraud noting that most counties struggling with increasing wage bills were as a result of Governors capturing some departments such as County Public Service Boards to control employment.

He noted that MCAs, on the other hand, have neglected their accountability roles and instead are now embroiled in selfish deeds of seeking jobs for their supporters, family members and relatives, thus unable to oversight counties.

1. Ghost workers. These are non-existent employees who exist only on paper and do not do anything for the county governments but earn salaries out of which they retain a small percentage and hand over the balance to their superiors. 
2. Over-employment: The scheme involves contracting staff more than is needed, especially in the lower cadre driven by nepotism, favouritism, and the need to reward political cronies. As a result, huge amounts of public funds are used in the payment of salaries at the expense of development and service delivery.
3. Employment or promotion of officials on the basis of forged academic certificates: EACC says some counties, with the help of senior county officials, treat employment as a means for rewarding political supporters, relatives, and associates.
4. Retaining in the payroll employees who have retired or exited the counties.
5. Multiple employment- employees holding more than one job in separate counties or institutions.
6. Employment of unqualified persons.
7. Placing some employees in higher grades to earn beyond their grades.

While expressing commitment to root out all corruption in the counties, the commission underscored that payroll fraud and ghost workers has been fuelled by impunity among county officials, and compromises the independence of County Public Service Boards and County Assemblies.

The Thursday operation in Nandi seized documents and other crucial evidentiary material after the County Government failed to comply with the EACC's order to avail the required documents to its offices by September 30, 2024.

EACC noted that the operation yielded valuable material that will support the ongoing investigation, including the payroll server believed to harbour ghost workers.

The offices include that of the County Secretary, the Chief Officer of Finance, the Director of Human Resources, the Payroll Manager, and the officer(s) in charge of Payroll.