Cabinet has directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate suspected payroll fraud amounting to Ksh6.2 billion after a government audit uncovered widespread irregularities in State departments.
The directive was issued during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi, on Tuesday, following the findings of a comprehensive payroll audit that exposed weaknesses in payroll governance across government.
According to the Cabinet, a sample audit covering 12 of the 53 State Departments uncovered suspected payroll irregularities worth Ksh6.2 billion.
The review revealed unauthorised alterations to payroll records, irregular salary payments, weak controls over statutory deductions, fragmented payroll management and major oversight gaps.
Cabinet tasked the DCI with investigating the suspected fraud, verifying personal numbers used in payroll processing, dismantling criminal networks manipulating government payroll systems, recovering lost public funds and ensuring the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those found culpable.
To address the systemic weaknesses, Cabinet also approved a comprehensive payroll reform programme to be implemented across government.
The reforms include a government-wide audit of all remaining State Departments and public institutions, mandatory migration of all Ministries, Departments, Agencies and State corporations to the revamped Integrated Human Resource and Payroll System, payroll data cleansing and validation, enhanced cybersecurity measures, establishment of a disaster recovery site and integration of payroll systems with other public financial management platforms.
Cabinet said the measures are intended to eliminate payroll fraud, strengthen accountability and restore integrity in the management of the public wage bill.
In a separate cost-cutting measure, Cabinet froze the leasing or hiring of additional office space pending an audit of government office utilisation. The review will guide a programme to renovate existing public offices to improve efficiency and service delivery.
