The Ministry of Public Service has handed over the findings of a comprehensive payroll audit and forensic investigation to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
In a statement on Wednesday, July 8, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku said the ministry had officially presented the audit and forensic reports to the DCI after briefing investigators on both the process undertaken and the findings contained in the reports.
"As part of the payroll reforms in the Ministry, today alongside my Principal Secretary Dr. Jane Kere Imbunya we officially handed over the human resource information system (payroll system) audit and forensic reports to the the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) led by its Director Mr. Mohammed Amin at Harambee House after a briefing to appraise the DCI team on the process and the findings of the audit," he wrote.
Ruku said the audit forms part of a reform agenda that has been underway for the past year to strengthen payroll management and eliminate weaknesses.
"Over the past year, the Ministry of Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes, under the State Department for Public Service and Human Capital Development, has spearheaded a comprehensive payroll reform programme aimed at modernizing payroll management, strengthening governance, and addressing systemic weaknesses identified through independent audits," he added.
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Ruku noted that the reform programme has involved verifying payroll records, upgrading the government's human resource information system, creating payroll audit units in ministries, departments and agencies, and introducing additional oversight mechanisms to improve accountability.
"These reforms have included the verification of public service payroll data, enhancement of the Human Resource Information System (HRIS-Ke), establishment of Payroll Audit Units across Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and the implementation of measures to improve oversight and accountability," he stated.
Ruku further said the government has adopted a coordinated approach to implementing the recommendations arising from the audit after the findings were reviewed by Cabinet.
"Following the independent payroll audit and subsequent consideration by Cabinet, Government has resolved to implement a coordinated, whole-of-government response to address the findings and recommendations arising from the audit," he concluded.
This development comes a week after the Cabinet has directed the DCI to investigate a multi-billion-shilling payroll fraud scheme after a government audit uncovered suspected irregularities amounting to Ksh6.2 billion across several State Departments.
Following a meeting chaired by President William Ruto on Tuesday, June 30, Cabinet said the reforms were intended to address long-standing weaknesses in the management of the public wage bill.
"President William Ruto today chaired a Cabinet meeting at State House, Nairobi, where Cabinet approved sweeping reforms to dismantle deeply entrenched and decades-long payroll fraud in Government, restore integrity to the public wage bill and safeguard taxpayers' money through a whole-of-government payroll clean-up," the Cabinet Dispatch read.
According to Cabinet, the decision was informed by findings from a comprehensive review of government payroll systems.
The audit revealed significant anomalies within a sample of State Departments, raising concerns over the integrity of payroll management processes.
"The decision follows a comprehensive Government payroll audit that uncovered widespread weaknesses in payroll governance.
"A sample audit of 12 of the 53 State Departments revealed suspected payroll irregularities amounting to Ksh6.2 billion, exposing unauthorised alterations to payroll records, irregular payments, weak controls over statutory deductions, and fragmented payroll management and major oversight gaps," the dispatch added.
Following the findings, Cabinet ordered the DCI to take immediate action against those responsible and to pursue recovery of lost public funds.
"Consequently, Cabinet directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to investigate payroll fraud, verify personal numbers used in payroll processing, dismantle criminal networks manipulating Government payroll systems, recover lost public funds, and ensure the immediate arrest and prosecution of all persons found culpable," the dispatch further read.
Cabinet also approved a broad payroll reform programme that will be rolled out across government institutions to strengthen oversight and prevent future abuse.
"The meeting also ordered the immediate implementation of a comprehensive payroll reform programme, including a Government-wide audit of all remaining State Departments and public institutions, mandatory migration of all Ministries, Departments, Agencies and State Corporations onto the newly revamped Integrated Human Resource and Payroll System, enhanced cybersecurity, payroll data cleansing and validation, establishment of a disaster recovery site, and integration of payroll with other public financial management systems," the dispatch noted.
