Nakuru County Public Service board Chairman Waithanji Mutiti answers questions at Nakuru County Assembly where he appeared before Liaison Committee to answer questions on how the county government had hired over 80 Ward administrator’s instead of 55, other queries emerged on top county government officials including County secretary and his deputy whose positions were never advertised. (PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU/ STANDARD)

The county government lost Sh261 million within 11 months last year through illegal hiring of workers, a report has revealed.

Findings of an ad hoc committee investigating recruitment of the county's workforce said four officers violated the law while hiring staff.

The report, which was tabled in the county assembly yesterday recommended the immediate sacking of County Secretary Joseph Mogusu Motari, Public Service Management Board Chief Officer Philip Sigei, Public Service Board chairman Waithanji Mutiti and his board secretary James Mbugua for illegally employing 180 workers between January and November 2015.

The officers, the report says, played a key role in driving up the county's wage bill to Sh5.25 billion, which is above the recommended 35 per cent of the county's total budget.

The committee wondered how the officers were able to execute the tedious process of hiring in such a short time.

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For instance, on April 15 last year, Motari, Mutiti and Mbugua hired 21 deputy sub-county administrators within 12 hours.

"The officers met and the following day, all the deputy sub-county administrators had been appointed," said committee chairman Stephen Kihara, who tabled the report yesterday.

In another case, Motari, who was seconded by the Transition Authority, appointed drivers, personal assistants, cooks and gardeners whose work stations remain a mystery.

"In the financial year 2013/14, the County Secretary appointed five drivers, three personal assistants, two cooks and two gardeners to various job groups. The committee could not establish where the said officers were deployed. As a consequence, the county has continued to incur a loss of Sh3m annually," reads the report.

Motari, the committee found out, hired 120 employers illegally.

Clerical officers

"The committee established that Joseph Motari appointed 53 senior clerical officers, 35 junior clerical officers, three personal assistants, five drivers, two cooks, two gardeners and 20 ward administrators without due process," reads the report.

Kihara said Motari admitted before the committee that he made the appointments without the board's approval.

"However, his defence was that he acted on the instructions of the governor," reads the report.

"In view of the grave transgressions, the committee, while noting that Joseph Motari is on secondment to the county government, recommends that he should be terminated immediately and his position competitively filled as ruled by the High Court 2014."

Motari was also accused of interdicting acting lands chief officer Victor Ndereba after he swore an affidavit that implicated the officials in the scam.

"Ndereba, in his oral evidence, said major beneficiaries of the irregular recruitment of 16 staff under his ministry were Dr Waithanji Mutiti, CEC Rachel Maina, James Mbugua and Philip Sigei which cost the county Sh14,687,832," Kihara said.

He added: "More importantly, the officer admitted signing the appointments under duress but was interdicted soon after the appearance by Joseph Motari."

Dr Mutiti, who is the chairman of the Public Service Board, could have been compromised by job seekers to offer them employment.

The report says Mutiti was party to irregular appointment of 36 workers in the Lands docket, 10 deputy sub-county administrators, 10 ward administrators and 20 additional administrators.

The committee, in its verdict, said Mutiti should be removed for being grossly incompetent in his leadership of the board, tabling cooked committee minutes and for being compromised to dish out jobs.

Mbugua who is the CPSB secretary is accused of colluding with Motari, and his chairman Mutiti in the scam.

In a daring act, the committee found out that Mbugua altered requirements for appointment to some positions to benefit some individuals in service who could not rise to such positions due to lack of requisite academic qualifications.

"The committee was shocked to note that the secretary altered and lowered academic qualifications of some positions to diploma to fit a certain individual. This was a malicious move," reads the report.

Mbugua is also accused of failing to ensure CPSB promotes values and principles, abdicated his duty by failing to take minutes of board meetings and, jointly with the board chairman, declined to sanction a request by the board for a forensic audit on the county payroll.

Sigei, also recommended for removal, appointed 13 ward administrators and 11 deputy sub-county administrators irregularly.

The committee wants the report handed over to the relevant investigative and oversight agencies, including the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission and the Senate, for further action.