Investigation into Nakuru County's ghost workers claim stalls
Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua. Hearing for a case where a Nakuru businessman has sued the Governor over alleged skewed cabinet appointments will be heard on January 26, 2015, a Nakuru High court has ruled. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
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MCAs have also accused it of arbitrarily sacking casual workers in favour of relatives of Board members.
When the Board appeared before the Assembly’s Liaison Committee last month, its chairman, Dr Waithanji Mutiti, defended the exercise conducted in April, saying the right procedures were followed.
However, he failed to produce supporting documents of employment, saying they had been locked in the offices over rent arrears amounting to more than Sh12 million.
Investigation into the allegation that there are ghost workers on the payroll of the Nakuru County government has hit a brick wall following the closure of the County Public Service Board offices.
The County Assembly had ordered a probe into the employment records of the Board following claims of irregular recruitment of staff, nepotism and bribery.
MCAs have also accused it of arbitrarily sacking casual workers in favour of relatives of Board members.
In particular, the current controversy surrounds the recruitment of county ward administrators, an exercise deemed to have been flawed.
The Board is on the spot over the hiring of 80 ward administrators and 11 deputy county administrators even though Nakuru has just 55 wards.
The Assembly insists that the county does not need the services of the officers who were recruited in April.
NO SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
The Board, however, said it was unable to give the necessary information and documents to support recent recruitment following the closure of its offices at Giddo Plaza in Nakuru town three weeks ago over rent arrears.
When the Board appeared before the Assembly’s Liaison Committee last month, its chairman, Dr Waithanji Mutiti, defended the exercise conducted in April, saying the right procedures were followed.
However, he failed to produce supporting documents of employment, saying they had been locked in the offices over rent arrears amounting to more than Sh12 million.
“We moved to our new offices recently but today we were shocked to find that we could not access the premises after the landlord locked us out,” he told the Assembly committee.
The Assembly doubts the alleged closure, terming it suspect because it happened on the same day the Board was asked to produce employment records for a probe.
A section of MCAs claim the Board is using the alleged closure of offices as a ploy to evade further questioning by the Assembly over the various hiring concerns and allegations.
The uproar over the recruitment was also because the Assembly had not sanctioned the position of deputy administrators at the ward level.
The labour committee in the Assembly ordered the Board to present a report within seven days detailing the circumstances surrounding the closure.
Pressure is also mounting to have the Board disbanded. A local accountability lobby group said the board had lost its credibility.
County Efficiency in Development chairman Mr James Mugo said the board must be reconstituted.
