Turkana to conduct payroll audit to weed out ghost workers

Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai. [David Gichuru, Standard]

The Turkana county government intends to hire an independent audit firm to clean up the payroll system and eliminate ghost workers.

Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai on Sunday said the county has hired Human Resource consultants to conduct a staff audit.

"The fact that the payroll system is clogged with ghost workers is cause for serious concern. I've considered hiring an outside audit firm to clean up the mess," Lomorukai said.

The county executive said he was certain that some departments were carrying the majority of the workforce, which was paid from the exchequer.

According to a source in the Finance department, the payroll department operates in a vacuum, despite the fact that they are part of the government structure. There have been reports of ghost workers in senior positions across the 10 departments.

"We don't know to whom the payroll personnel must answer. They appear to function independently. This, I believe, is where the problem began. Even the executive has been in the dark." said a source who asked to remain anonymous.

According to Lomorukai, payroll personnel have ignored summonses from the Auditor General and anti-graft agencies.

The governor has directed the County Secretary to conduct a head count of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers in order to determine the number of teachers on the payroll.