Casual staff behind revenue loss in Nyeri, EACC says

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has urged Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua to ensure staff collecting revenue for the county government are permanent employees, not casuals.

The commission, in a report, said 72 of the 114 revenue collectors in the county are casual employees.

“Use of casual employees in collection of revenue can lead to loss of revenue without [the] possibility of recovery since it is difficult to hold them accountable in [the] event of misappropriation,” EACC said.

The anti-corruption agency also recommended that the staff be rotated regularly.

It further raised concerns that county askaris were not trained and that could lead to unethical conduct and manipulation by the public.

According to the report, the county has 41 askaris, who do not keep a register of arrests made, a practice that can cause collusion and the release of offenders.

“The governor should ensure the county liaises with [the] Judiciary to establish county courts and [that the] Director of Public Prosecutions seconds prosecutors,” the EACC recommended.

SUBSTANTIVE APPOINTMENTS

The agency also faulted the governor for failing to make substantive appointments in his government, reporting that close to 10 officers in various departments are working in acting capacity.

This, the EACC observed, can lead to lawsuits by aggrieved parties and the governor should ensure appointments are made within the labour laws.

The report further urged county officials to streamline Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE).

It indicated that the county has 453 ECDE centres with 800 teachers but only seven tutors were in the county executive’s payroll while the rest were supported by parents.

QUESTIONS ABOUT NHIF PROJECT

The agency also criticised a memorandum of understanding signed with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) on the funding and provision of social health insurance for the elderly and disabled in a project called Bima Afya.

EACC investigators discovered that the process of identifying potential beneficiaries of the project did not have a clear criteria, resulting in complaints that deserving people were left out, leading to the suspension of the project.

“A payment of Sh6,102,000 was made in respect to 1,017 beneficiaries, 17 of whom were already members of [the] NHIF scheme. This led to denial of service and county funds being held by NHIF without being utilised,” the report indicated.

The EACC report assessing the corruption risk in the county executive’s systems was carried out in November 2016.

It was handed over to the acting executive secretary in charge of finance and economic planning, Charles Githinji, who said county officials will address the commission’s recommendations and complaints.