ADVERT 
ADVERTThe County Government of Siaya has ordered a fresh compilation of departmental staff records in a renewed push to verify its workforce and reconcile employee details with payroll records, reviving scrutiny of the county’s human resource management systems.
In an internal memorandum dated October 5, 2026, County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Governance, Administration and ICT, Hon. Joseph Rading Otieno, directed Chief Officer for ICT and Public Service Transformation Maurine Awuor Onyango to submit comprehensive and updated information on all personnel serving in the county government.
The memo, referenced CGS/GVN&ADM/CECM/ADM.GEN/19/VOL.IV (152), set Wednesday, October 7, at 4.30pm as the deadline for submitting the information to the CECM’s office.
The directive specifically requires departments to account for employees serving on permanent and pensionable terms, those engaged on contracts, and casual workers.
For each category, the departments must provide the total number of personnel, their full names and current or designated workstations.
ADVERTThe exercise is intended to facilitate the verification and approval of the county payroll and ensure that employee records are comprehensively reconciled with financial records.
Otieno warned that compliance with the directive and adherence to the deadline were essential to prevent delays in salary processing and approval.
The memo was copied to Governor James Orengo and the Acting County Secretary, signalling that the exercise has the attention of the county’s top administrative leadership.
A RENEWED PUSH TO CLEAN UP THE PAYROLL
The latest directive comes against the backdrop of longstanding challenges in Siaya’s payroll administration, including salary delays affecting employees whose records or personnel numbers have not been fully processed.
In May 2026, the Kenya News Agency reported that more than 500 county workers had experienced difficulties accessing their salaries because they lacked personal file numbers required for integration into the official payroll system.
The affected workers reportedly included permanent employees and casual staff, among them market sweepers and hospital cleaners.
The problem followed restrictions on salary payments through manual payroll arrangements outside the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD).
In June, the county announced an accelerated payroll resolution exercise involving the allocation and reactivation of Unique Personal Numbers (UPNs) and the onboarding of employees onto the national Human Resource Information System (HRIS).
According to an official county statement published on June 4, the exercise targeted approximately 900 newly recruited employees without UPNs and 1,322 workers on short-term contracts who required the unique identifiers for salary processing.
The administration said the initiative was intended to resolve outstanding payroll problems, facilitate the processing of salary arrears and standardise employee information.
The latest departmental staff-data request therefore comes as the county continues efforts to strengthen payroll management and bring employee records into line with the required systems.
GHOST-WORKER CONCERNS BACK IN FOCUS
Beyond salary processing, the renewed demand for comprehensive staff records is likely to attract public attention because of previous audit findings concerning weaknesses in Siaya’s payroll controls.
A 2023 internal audit of the county payroll, covering the July 2022 to June 2023 financial year, raised concerns about unsupported payments, questionable transactions and weaknesses in the reconciliation of employee records.
The report also highlighted the risk of duplicate payments, incomplete personnel files and possible ghost workers.
Separately, the Office of the Auditor-General’s audit of the County Executive’s financial statements for the 2023/2024 financial year raised questions about documentation supporting certain employee payments.
Among the issues identified were payments to 2,128 community health workers, involving expenditure of approximately Sh76.6 million, without recruitment records being provided for audit verification.
The audit also questioned documentation supporting payments to 192 employees who received approximately Sh3.14 million in special allowances.
These findings underscore the importance of maintaining accurate, verifiable and up-to-date employment records.
However, the October 5 memorandum does not accuse any particular employee or department of fraud, nor does it establish that ghost workers have been identified through the current exercise. Its stated purpose is to obtain comprehensive staff information for payroll verification and approval.
THREE CATEGORIES UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
The directive places three broad categories of county personnel under scrutiny.
Permanent and pensionable employees must be accounted for through their full names, numbers and current workstations.
Contract employees must similarly be listed, with their designated workstations clearly identified.
Casual workers must also be captured individually, including their full names and exact workstations.
The requirement to specify workstations is particularly significant because it provides a basis for checking whether employees appearing on payroll records are assigned to identifiable locations within the county’s administrative and service-delivery structures.
A properly conducted verification exercise could help establish whether departmental records are consistent with payroll entries and whether the county has reliable information on the personnel it employs.
It could also help identify discrepancies requiring further investigation, correction or documentary support.
Nevertheless, the memo does not explicitly announce a physical headcount, biometric verification exercise or investigation into suspected fraudulent employment. Whether such additional measures will follow remains unclear.
ACCOUNTABILITY AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS
For Siaya residents, the central question is whether the latest exercise will produce lasting improvements in payroll integrity and financial accountability.
A reliable payroll system is essential not only for protecting public funds but also for ensuring that legitimate employees receive their salaries on time.
The county’s earlier payroll difficulties demonstrated the human cost of weaknesses in employment records and personnel-number processing, particularly for workers who report for duty but cannot access their wages because of administrative or system-related problems.
The latest exercise therefore presents the administration with an opportunity to address two concerns simultaneously: preventing irregular payments and protecting genuine employees from being unfairly excluded from the payroll.
Any discrepancies uncovered should be handled through transparent verification procedures, with affected workers given an opportunity to provide supporting documentation and resolve legitimate employment-record disputes.
Where evidence of irregular recruitment, duplicate payments or fraudulent payroll entries emerges, appropriate investigations and lawful corrective action would be necessary.
Equally important will be the protection of employees’ personal information, given that the requested records contain identifiable details that must be handled responsibly.
WILL THE EXERCISE DELIVER RESULTS?
The October 7 deadline has already passed, but the memorandum alone does not establish whether all departments complied, whether the requested records were submitted, or whether the exercise has identified any irregularities.
The next critical step will be to establish whether the county has completed the compilation and reconciliation process and what action, if any, has followed.
For an administration that has previously acknowledged payroll challenges, the public will expect more than another round of paperwork.
Residents and county employees alike will want to see a credible reconciliation of departmental staff lists with official payroll records, the resolution of outstanding salary cases and safeguards against payments unsupported by legitimate employment records.
Ultimately, the success of the exercise will not be measured by the number of staff lists submitted to the CECM’s office, but by whether the county can demonstrate that public money is paying legitimate workers, employment records are accurate and deserving employees receive their salaries without unnecessary delays.
For now, the directive marks another step in Siaya’s continuing effort to strengthen payroll administration. Whether it becomes a decisive turning point in the management of the county workforce will depend on the verification process, the findings produced and the action taken thereafter.
