At least 1,800 employees in Nandi County have received termination letters as Governor Stephen Sang enacts a human resource audit that uncovered a bloated and costly payroll.
The letters, reviewed by the Star, indicate that these workers were irregularly appointed and added to the county payroll without adhering to Section 66 of the County Governments Act.
“Therefore, by the authority granted to the County Public Service Board under Section 75 of the County Governments Act, 2012, the termination states that their appointment is revoked due to irregularities,” the letters read.
The issuance of these termination letters has sparked anger and fear among employees, some of whom have threatened to protest and disrupt county operations this week.
Governor Sang asserted that he would not exempt even his own relatives or friends from the fallout of this payroll scandal. He committed to fully implementing the human resource audit report, which revealed serious issues that had inflated the workforce to over 5,000 employees.
“I will not selectively implement the report. We will fully execute the HR report, and I am unwavering in this commitment to clean up this mess,” Sang stated.
He emphasized that anyone involved in illegal activities would face legal consequences, regardless of their connections.
“If they are relatives of the governor, county executives, or anyone else, they will be held accountable because criminals are criminals, no matter who they are related to,” he said.
Sang noted that he initiated the HR audit, positioning himself as the whistleblower in this situation. He explained that much of the county’s resources, which could have been allocated to development, were instead tied up in a large wage bill, and this cleanup would help free up those resources and professionalize public services.
He condemned the threats from some employees to disrupt county operations as criminal and reiterated that, despite the termination of 1,800 workers, around 3,200 employees would remain on duty along with volunteers.
“Services will continue as normal, but anyone attempting to disrupt operations will be engaging in criminal behavior and will face the law,” Sang warned.
He advised anyone with complaints to follow proper procedures but cautioned against interfering with county functions.
Sang clarified that he did not authorize the illegal employment of any workers, as he only has hiring authority for county executives, chief officers, and advisers.
He assured the people of Nandi that those who gained financially through illegal means would have to repay their earnings.
“I want to assure the people of Nandi that by the end of this process, we will have a fully professional, efficient, responsive, and legally constituted public service,” he stated.
The names of the affected employees were irregularly added to the county payroll and will be removed, meaning they will not receive salaries starting this October.
This action follows a human resource audit conducted by the Public Service Commission, which exposed significant payroll fraud, leading to the issuance of termination letters.
Numerous individuals, primarily cronies and relatives of high-ranking county officials, were found to have received illegal appointment letters and were improperly included on the payroll.
Two weeks ago, Sang suspended several payroll officers to facilitate ongoing investigations into the alleged irregularities in payroll management.
The county should have no more than 3,000 employees, and Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has previously raised concerns about improper employment practices.
The audit was carried out by a technical team from the Public Service Commission, which found that some members of the Nandi County Public Service Board and payroll unit had colluded to issue fraudulent appointment letters.
“All these irregularities resulted in fake appointment letters being generated through dishonest means and subsequently entered into the payroll system,” Sang said.
The investigation revealed the use of counterfeit documents, including fake certificates, leading to arbitrary job placements and dubious promotions.
