Counties

Kiraitu taps Deloitte to help flush out ghost workers

kiraitu

Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi . PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | NMG

The Meru County Government has appointed consulting firm Deloitte to conduct a human resource audit.

County boss Kiraitu Murungi unveiled the team from the firm, led by Mr George Hapisu, at his office today.

“When we came in we sent several officers on leave pending a detailed human resource audit. We are happy that after rigorous exercise, we have identified international firm Deloitte to audit the county staff,’’ Mr Murungi said.

He says the firm will begin conducting the exercise on Monday next week in what the governor says will ensure better service delivery in the county.

The audit, which will take eight weeks, will include a staff headcount and vetting of skills.

“We’re happy to partner with the county government in the exercise. The main objective of the audit is to know the staff against the payroll and their skills,’’ Mr Hapisu said Monday.

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Suspended

Not long after he was sworn in as Governor, Mr Murungi suspended senior county employees to pave way for a finance and human resource audit.

Those affected included the county secretary, County Executive Committee (CEC) members, chief officers, sub-county, ward and town administrators.

The chairman of the County public service board, Patrick Gichunge, and a member - Francis Kithure - were also suspended pending investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

The governor said the HR audit is meant to flush out ghost workers from the devolved unit's payroll.

However, he clarified that officers who pass the audit will be retained in his government.

“It is our intention to make Meru one of the best governed counties in Kenya. We shall do our best to deliver our promise to make Meru great. We want to ensure that Meru has a clean, efficient and effective civil service which will deliver on this promise,” said Mr Murungi.

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