• First county to launch biometric monitoring to identify lazy and nonexistent workers.
• System to require registered fingerprint or card access to keep track of them.
Image: FILE
Will the real Nairobi staff please stand up?
A biometric system at City Hall will be launched on Wednesday to detect ghost workers among 12,500 staff on the payroll. They will be exorcised and the county wage bill reduced.
The system will also identify lazy, tardy and no-show workers.
On Monday Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Monday ordered installation of a biometric system at City Hall.
Nairobi will be the first county to install such a system.
It is expected to require building entry and door access with fingerprints or ID cards to keep track of employee hours and their comings and goings.
In January 2014 President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that a nationwide audit of state workers revealed Sh1.8 billion is lost annually to 'ghosts'.
Sonko warned lazy and inefficient staff that their productivity and efficiency will be monitored.
Sonko's communications officer Elkana Jacob yesterday said the system will help improve efficiency and services.
"We've had cases of people pretending to be staff and coming to City Hall to get inside information," Jacob said." The new system will ensure those who access City Hall are legitimate staff and are on the payroll," he said.
When Sonko came into office in October 2017, he unearthed a cartel of impostors who had been issuing people with fake receipts.
The impostors were busted by police while in possession of fake staff and national IDs, as well as receipts from various departments.
Governor Sonko warned residents against fake city officials masquerading as departmental heads.
Sonko said the system will also hold workers to account for their time at work and to measure their productivity.
Communication to staff will be fast through system of notifications and real-time messaging (Emails and SMS).
"The staff will use the employee self-service module to communicate to the HR team in management handling their affairs such as leave," Sonko said.
Each employee will be responsible for their profile and no one else can use their credentials. This is because of double verification processes," Jacob said.
The system will be set up in the executive part of the county government and extended to other offices and other departments next month.