A Senate watchdog committee has directed the Office of the Auditor General to conduct an in-depth audit to establish the exact amounts owed by all 47 county governments to their employees.
The Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) issued the directive following revelations of systemic delays in salary payments, unremitted statutory deductions, gratuity payments, pension contributions and Sacco remittances.
The committee raised concerns over a recurring practice in which county governments deduct money from employees’ salaries but fail to remit the funds to the relevant agencies. This exposes workers to financial hardship and the risk of losing benefits.
CPAC chairperson Moses Kajwang’ said the committee was particularly alarmed by persistent delays in settling gratuity for contracted staff after they leave service. The Homa Bay Senator noted that many former county employees have been pushed into hardship as a result.
“It is now clear that counties are mistreating the people who work for them,” Senator Kajwang’ said, while directing the Auditor General to carry out the audit.
The directive was issued during a session in which the committee questioned Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka over issues raised by the Auditor General in the county’s financial statements for the 2024-25 financial year.
Although the audit will cover all 47 counties, the committee instructed the auditor to begin with Bungoma county, which was the focus of the session.
Bungoma has yet to pay gratuity to staff who served under former governor Wycliffe Wangamati during the five-year period between 2017 and 2022. Governor Lusaka confirmed that gratuity for staff who served between 2013 and 2017 had been paid.
However, he faced sharp questions from Bungoma Senator David Wakoli, who pointed out that tutors who served during Lusaka’s first term in 2014 were still unpaid.
By June 30, 2025, the end of the last financial year, Bungoma county owed its employees Sh549 million in unremitted pension contributions.
The auditor general also reported that the county had accumulated salary arrears of Sh1.7 billion by the same date, covering unpaid salaries for May and June 2025.
Lusaka told the committee that the Sh1.7 billion in salary arrears had since been cleared, leaving a balance of Sh549 million made up of unremitted statutory deductions to pension firms and other agencies.
He blamed the problem on the previous administration’s failure to remit deductions and supported calls for accountability.
“Those who failed to remit deducted salaries must be pursued and prosecuted,” Lusaka said, in remarks that appeared to fault the Wangamati administration.
He urged the Auditor General to conduct a detailed analysis of the Sh549 million to establish whether the deductions relate to taxes, pension contributions, Sacco remittances or other statutory obligations.
The committee directed the Auditor General to carry out an ageing analysis, categorising outstanding obligations by how long they have remained unpaid. Senators said this would help identify chronic delays, track payment patterns and guide corrective action across counties.
The Auditor General was ordered to submit a consolidated report on all 47 counties within seven days.
Lusaka was also questioned over the accumulation of pending bills, the absence of an internal audit committee, delays in establishing the County Public Service Board and what senators described as disregard for procurement laws, leading to the termination of contracts without due process.
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