Retirees remain on county payroll amid youth unemployment crisis

 Auditor General Nancy Gathungu./FILE

Counties are increasingly coming under scrutiny for retaining retirees on their payrolls despite the deepening youth unemployment crisis.

A special audit reports by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu says nearly all the 47 county governments continue to keep or reappoint individuals who have reached or exceeded the mandatory retirement age of 60 years.

Section 80 of the County Governments Act, 2012, requires that the retirement age of county public officers align with national government policy.

Under the Public Service Commission Regulations, the retirement age is set at 60 years, or 65 years for persons living with disability.

The Auditor General said inaccurate recording of employees’ birth dates in payroll systems has led to cases of premature retirement of staff or retainment beyond legal retirement age.

This, she warned, exposes counties to the risk of miscalculated retirement dates, pension dues, and other age-based entitlements.

The reports on the special audit of the payrolls for the devolved units were tabled in the Senate recently.

In Embu, the Special Audit determined that there were nine employees in 2021-22, a similar number in the next financial year, and 57 employees in 2023-24 who had attained the retirement age of 60 years.

The total amount paid for the extra years was Sh49.29 million.

The report reveals that there were three active employees on the payroll for Tharaka Nithi for the financial year 2022-23.

The total amount paid for the extra years amounted to Sh3.34 million.

In Baringo, the county retained three retired officers on its payroll, paying them hundreds of thousands of shillings.

In the first case, an officer who retired in November 2021 and was later struck off the payroll has been reinstated.

The officer was reinstated back in the payroll in February 2022 under unclear circumstances.

The county also engaged another retired officer for nine months and paid Sh402,220 for the period.

“Review of 2022-23 IPPD payroll revealed an amount of Sh802,920 that was unlawfully paid to an officer who, as per the birth certificate provided, was meant to retire on May 20, 2022.

However, she continued to withdraw a salary up until February 2023, thereby resulting in an unlawful payment of salary.

In Nyamira, 12 employees who had attained the retirement age of 60 years were still active in service. The total amount paid for the extra years amounted to Sh998,985.

“The retention of employees beyond the retirement age contravenes the public service regulations and undermines succession planning,” the report says.

In Uasin Gishu, two employees aged above 60 years were paid a salary of Sh4.4 million.

The audit established that 13 employees had attained the retirement age of 60 years by 30 June 2024, but were still active in the payroll in Samburu county. They were paid Sh7.07 million.

The auditor flagged an inaccurate capturing of birthdates in the county, posing the risk of exceeding the legal retirement age or forcing an employee to retire early.

“There is also the risk of miscalculation of retirement dates and pension dues of employees, as well as other entitlements that are calculated based on age,” the report says.

The report shows that the Kericho county executive paid officers who had attained the retirement ages but were still in active service some Sh25.63 million.

In Trans Nzoia, the auditor flagged inaccurate capturing of birthdates, leading to the risk of exceeding the legal retirement age, compelling the employees to retire before they are due for retirement

This is after the audit showed that a review of a sample of 234 employees and verification of their identification documents established that the dates captured in the IPPD System and the HRIS-Ke for 56 employees were different from those in the employees' birth certificates.

This is the case in Nyandarua, where the audit identified 146 employees in the IPPD System with inconsistent dates of birth.

An interview with 116 employees and verification of their identification documents established that the dates captured in the IPPD System for 46 employees were different from those in the employees' birth certificates.

Similar discrepancies were also reported in Kitui, Kisii, Bungoma, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, and Nakuru counties.

“The retention of employees beyond the retirement age contravenes public service regulations and undermines succession planning,” the Auditor General cautioned.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The Special Audit evaluated the human resource and payroll processes at the county executives and assessed their compliance with the established legal framework on payroll management.

The reports identified weaknesses in controls and irregularities in salary processing and payments, and provided recommendations to the devolved units for enhancing compliance, accuracy, accountability, and efficiency in payroll management.