EACC to take action on Kisii staff who secured employment illegally

The Ethics and Anti-corruption commission (EACC) now says it will take legal action against any person who illegally secured employment in Kisii county.

The commission also says it will be seeking to recover salaries earned as a result in the entire period.

"EACC has taken note of the issues raised in the IHRM report on Kisii county, which is part of ongoing investigations," a statement reads. 

"Besides recommending prosecution of any culpable persons, EACC will recover any public funds lost, including salaries earned on forged academic certificates," it adds 

A forensic audit by Governor Simba Arati has unearthed a total of 1,314 ghost workers in the county.

The audit conducted by the Institute of Human Resource Management included a physical headcount of all the county staff.

Of the 5,600 workforce on the county's payroll, 1,314 employees did not show up during the employment validation process.

The commission says it will be also pursuing the approach not only in Kisii but in all counties under investigation over similar issues.

Earning salaries or other benefits on the basis of forged academic certificates amount to fraudulent acquisition of public property and EACC is under the law empowered to recover and return the same to the public.

The report which was handed over to Arati on Wednesday showed that it was not possible to account for the 1,314 workers who did not make a physical appearance for the headcount.

It is not clear how the ghost workers found their way into the payroll with Arati's administration expected to use the report as a basis for thorough investigations by authorities.

The audit was commissioned late last year with the governor saying it would help address the county's ballooning wage bill.

“I know there are people who stagnated in one point for long, others actually perform duties outside their mandate and thus incompetent to deliver," he said.