Lamu County Governor Issa Timamy will probe illegal appointments made by his predecessor and the Lamu County Public Service Board in the run up to the just concluded August 2022 elections.
Speaking to KNA today in his Mokowe area, Timamy stated that the past administration had contravened the law by appointing workers and exceeding the county payroll beyond the 35 percent threshold of the county recurrent budget as prescribed by the constitution.
He stated that the current payroll accounts for atleast 65 percent of the county budget which he stated leaves very little money for development.
“The former regime took upon themselves to give contracts to 180 new workers within the last two months before the election,” he stated.
He further revealed that the bulk of those who were given contracts at the tail end of the former county administration mainly included ECDE teachers, county security staff, Lamu Water and Sanitation Company staff as well as political appointees many of whom he added could have been ghost workers.
The governor’s claims come a mere four months after the Lamu County Public Service Board (LCPSB) carried out a probe of at least 112 suspected ghost workers being on the county’s payroll for years.
The LCPSB probe revealed that there were 112 ghost workers who could not be accounted for yet they have been earning salaries and other benefits from the county government.
“The Lamu municipality is also a major culprit for having hired adversely rather than following the law, with most of those with contracts likely to be ghost workers,” Timamy said.
He stated that he would conduct a probe into how the hiring was done in a bid to curb county government wastage.
“The monies that is being used to pay these ghost workers could be put to better use by implementing development projects instead,” the governor said.
He further lamented over the high rate of staff absenteeism stating that it will no longer be business as usual in the county government’s daily affairs.
However, Lamu County Public Service Board Chairman Abdalla Fadhil in a rebuttal stated that the appointments were done above board and were passed and ratified by the county executive as well as the county assembly.
He further absolved himself from blame of hiring ghost workers, stating that it has been during his tenure that the county payroll has been streamlined.
“LCPSB’s work has been beyond reproach and the county executive needs to be aware that hiring, recruitment and retiring of staff is a continuous process aimed at ensuring the county government’s operations run smoothly,” Fadhil said.
