• Unionist Timothy Mbuvi said that his team will protest to the county secretary over the punitive action.
• A task force on staff audit established by Governor Malombe revealed Kitui had at least 935 ghost workers, including the 200 who complained to the union.
Image: MUSEMBI NZENGU
The Kitui government has slashed about 200 alleged ghost workers from its payroll, denying them March pay.
They hadn't shown up for the physical headcount and they and the union were furious.
As the rest of the workforce received their March salaries last week, 'ghost workers' did not get a shilling as they had been removed from the payroll.
They were among 935 listed as ghost workers in an audit report and headcount ordered by Governor Julius Malombe. The 935 did not show up for the head count and 200 of them complained to the union.
“By last Friday, all the Kitui government workers on the payroll received their salaries. However, nearly 200 other workers have not been paid as they are branded ghost workers,” a top trade unionist, Timothy Mbuvi said.
The chairman of Kitui branch of Kenya County Government Workers Union on Sunday faulted the county government for removing workers from the payroll.
“There is no justification for removing workers from the payroll on the basis of a report of a task force that we did not agree to. Besides, findings that revealed ghost workers were not from a professionally done exercise,” Mbuvi said.
The trade unionist said that on Monday, he will lead representatives of various trade unions that represent county government workers to protest the decision to stop workers' salaries.
He said during the meeting they will push for reversal of the decision. He described it as punitive. He said that some of the workers who were branded ghost workers had served for more than 20 years in government.
In early March, the task force on staff audit and rationalisation appointed by the governor declared at least 1,500 ghost and irregularly hired workers.
Image: MUSEMBI NZENGU
The report by the committee chaired by Florence Muinde said the unwanted workers as well as the non-existent ones have been consuming millions of shillings in salaries.
The committee recommended salaries for 935 ghost workers and 592 irregularly hired workers be stopped. It also recommended those who earned irregular salaries be made to pay them back.
Since 2017, the Kitui county wage bill, according to Muinde team’s report, has ballooned exponentially from Sh2.6 billion to Sh4 billion in 2022.
As he received the report from Muinde, Governor Malombe said it was unacceptable that there were 935 ghost workers in Kitui’s payroll causing the county to lose huge amounts of money.
“We will implement this report. Where immediate action has to be taken, we will take that action. Let us not forget one thing, we must follow due diligence,” he added.
Immediately thereafter, in what appeared to be swift action as pledged by Malombe, county secretary Agnes Mulewa issued letters of salary stoppage to all workers identified as ghost workers in the report.
Mulewa’s letters that were dated March 13 cited the staff audit committee work as reason for the action to stop the March salaries.
The ghost workers will go first but it is expected to be a tangled affair involving court action.
The county secretary, however, indicated the termination of service was in the cards unless the affected workers proved otherwise. She gave the workers 21 days to justify why they should not be sacked before the axe falls.
She told the workers that since they did not appear for a head count that was carried out by the staff audit and rationalisation committee, they could not therefore be accounted for.
“In view of the above, your dismissal from the Kitui county public service,on account of failure to present yourself for the physical headcount, is contemplated,” a letter obtained by the Star read.
(Edited by V. Graham)