Embu roads authority casual workers lament over delayed pay

PS for Roads Eng. Joseph Mbugua (right) and KEERA Director General  Eng Philemon Kandie when they appeared before PAC committee Audit query for the 2021 /2022 Financial year at Parliament buildings ,Nairobi . January 31st ,2024 [Elvis Ogina,Standard]

Casual workers employed by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) to supervise various projects in the Embu region have decried pay delays.

The casuals, including surveyors, levelers, and laboratory technicians, accuse Kerra of failing to pay them their dues, which amounts to millions. They say their plea to have the salary arrears and allowances paid have fallen on deaf ears.

Samuel Ndichu, surveyor said the amount owed to them dates back to the Financial Year 2021/2022. The casuals supervised the construction of the Siakago-Kianjokoma-Kibugu Road.

According to Ndichu, the project started in 2017 and ended in 2022. He said he is owed Sh338,000.

He said at the beginning, all was well and the contractor would pay on time, until their salaries started being channeled to the account of the resident engineer Peter Wachai.

“Things changed when the project contractor started depositing money to the resident engineer’s account. Our salaries started delaying,” he said.

He said they followed up from the contractor’s side, who referred them to Wachai. At the end of the project in the Financial Year 2021/2022 the casuals had accumulated seven months’ salary arrears with 10 months’ allowances.

Ndichu added that they were assigned another project, Kangaru-Kavuruki Road in July 2022 and each time they tried to follow up on their arrears they were told to wait.

“We tried following up on the arrears, but we were told to wait. We feared asking for our money, as we could be fired,” he said.

In November 2022, he said he was forced to exit due to continued frustrations.

He said his colleagues who moved to Kiriti-Siakago Road project are also owed seven months salaries with six months allowances. The money to settle their dues, he said, was being made to the resident engineer.

Ndichu said they have tried to engage the current resident engineer Alex Wachira who told them he didn’t know of any arrears before taking over and will only settle what he has handled.

Wachira, according to Ndichu told them the matter has been referred to the Kerra Director General Engineer Philemon Kandie. “Engineer Kandie, in one of the meetings we held this year gave us his number in case someone had an issue and needed clarification, to talk to him. We spoke to him and he told us our issue is being handled at the headquarters in Nairobi,” he said.

Ndichu said they were shocked that the contractor’s staff were being paid on time while those who worked under the resident engineer were not.

Ndichu said they are shocked that Kerra paid the contractor for the construction of the Siakago-Kianjokoma-Kibugu road without deducting the amount owed to them.

Ndichu’s landlord, he said, asked him to leave after seven months as he had accumulated rent arrears.

Ndichu is not alone as Muriuki James claims Kerra is yet to pay Sh435, 000 owed to him for work done in 2021. Muriuki said he has since accumulated debts and only survives on empty promises. “The non-payment has seen me accumulate debts, I am being pursued by the people I owe,” he said.

Julius Kariuki, another surveyor said Kerra owes him over Sh300,000. He said he has had challenges paying fees for his children and meeting his daily needs. He revealed that he has worked with Kerra for seven years, but the last two years have been worse.

Veronicah Nyagah, a laboratory attendant on her part said she is still waiting to have her Sh200, 000 for work done between 2016 and 2020 settled. “We leave it to God,” she said.

Kaburu Robert said this year, they had a meeting with the then regional engineer who told them their issue is being handled by the Director General (DG). “I tried reaching the DG and he referred us to Embu, when we go to Embu, we are referred to the DG. We are being taken in circles,” said Kaburu.

Engineer Wachai, former resident engineer of Embu region who has since retired said before he left office in September this year, he held a meeting with the contractor and agreed on the amount owed to each.

“Their issues are being addressed, you know when you leave, you handover. The people were working under a contractor, I was only the resident engineer. I think the problem is that the government has not paid most of the contractors hence the delay in payment,” he said.

KeRRA Director General Eng Philemon Kandie confirmed that the ministry owes the casuals and already has the names of those to be paid. “I have had meetings with them and have documented their grievances. There is no issue with the payment,’ he said on a phone call.