More than 140 employees of the Homa Bay County government who were suspended due to lack of credentials have been given a second chance.
The County Secretary Bernard Muok said the county government has given the affected employees another opportunity to present their testimonials for vetting.
The employees have not received their salaries for the last three months after an audit revealed that they were hired without their documents.
“There were different cadres of staff who were affected by the audit. We want to get their side of the story,” Muok said.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Muok said the workers would not be paid salaries until their papers are scrutinized as their history was questionable.
“Let there be calm because we will listen to them. They will get time to defend themselves before appropriate action is taken,” he added.
The employees from Homa Bay who were affected by the staff audit confirmed that they had not been paid their salaries for three months following the audit report but claimed that they have continued working in their respective departments regardless.
They also claimed that they had presented their documents for verification but the county government has not communicated.
The workers’ representatives Duncan Odhiambo and Emily Kerubo said they have been reporting at their work station but they have never been paid since the staff audit report was released in August.
“I was told that my records are not with the county government but I had gone and presented them and I still question why I cannot be paid my salaries,” Odhiambo said adding that he also presented his papers during the audit.
According to the report from Price Water House Coopers (PWC), Homa Bay government had a total of 1, 786 ghost workers earning up to Sh300 million annually.
Odhiambo said some of the affected staff auditors realized that their pay had been reduced and raised the matter with their employer, but no action has been taken since.
“Most of us have been taken through biometric verification when we present our papers. Up to now, we have not received any communication from the county government,” said Odhiambo.
He said he joined other affected workers to present their grievances to their employer but did not get an audience with any county official.
Kerubo, who is a Revenue Collection Officer, said life has become unbearable for many of them with some saying they had applied for loans from financial institutions to undertake some projects but could not repay the loans.
“We risk losing all our property because we cannot pay the loans,” Kerubo said.
By Davis Langat
