CS Ruku Orders State Agencies to Adopt New HRIS System or Risk Salary Payments Freeze

CS Ruku Orders State Agencies to Adopt New HRIS System or Risk Salary Payments Freeze

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has issued a firm directive to government institutions yet to adopt the Human Resource Information System (HRIS), warning that agencies that fail to comply within the next two months risk having salary and allowance payments suspended.

The warning, delivered during a public service engagement on Friday, May 29, signals the government’s renewed push to eliminate payroll fraud, ghost workers, and irregular salary payments that have for years burdened the public wage bill.

According to the Cabinet Secretary, the current level of compliance remains alarmingly low despite the government’s significant investment in digitising human resource management across public institutions.

Ruku disclosed that out of 575 state agencies operating across the country, only 47 have successfully been onboarded onto the Human Resource Information System, a figure he described as unacceptable and inconsistent with the government’s accountability agenda.

“For the human resource managers who are here and they work with government agencies, and you know your agency is not onboarded on HRIS, make sure in the next two months you have done what is required for your institution to be onboarded on HRIS, a period to which a time is coming when we will not pay salaries and allowances if those institutions are not onboarded on the Human Resource Information System,” Ruku warned.

The directive is expected to affect a broad range of government institutions, including ministries, state corporations, public universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, the National Police Service (NPS), and even sections of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) administrative systems.

The Human Resource Information System is part of a wider government effort to centralise employee records, improve accountability, and ensure that public funds are spent on verified employees only.

According to the CS, recent upgrades to the platform have significantly enhanced its ability to detect payroll irregularities, monitor employee records, and identify fraudulent salary payments that previously went unnoticed.

Ruku painted a worrying picture of the extent of payroll abuse within some public institutions, citing cases where salaries continue being processed even after officers have been interdicted or are no longer actively serving.

“We have cases in the National Police Service where an interdicted officer is no longer earning a salary, yet that salary continues to be paid into a certain account and ends up in someone’s pocket. There are many such cases,” he revealed.

The Cabinet Secretary further confirmed that a comprehensive payroll forensic audit commissioned by the government last year has already been completed and has uncovered extensive weaknesses within the current payroll management system.

According to preliminary findings, investigators identified numerous cases of ghost workers receiving salaries despite never reporting to work, duplicated employee records appearing in multiple stations, and irregular allowance payments that have significantly inflated the public wage bill.

“The ghost worker who draws a salary but has never reported to her desk, the duplicated names that service across multiple stations, the multiple irregular payments of allowances that quietly inflate obligations beyond what any budget can bear,” Ruku stated.

The revelations have renewed concerns about public sector accountability and the management of taxpayer resources at a time when the government is seeking to reduce expenditure and improve service delivery.

Experts say digitised personnel management systems have become increasingly important in combating corruption and enhancing transparency within government institutions worldwide.

Recent audit reports have highlighted the scale of the challenge facing Kenya’s public service. Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu recently reported difficulties in verifying 596 county employees across several counties, raising questions about payroll integrity.

Separately, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) flagged payroll discrepancies amounting to approximately Ksh978 million, while local audits uncovered more than 1,700 unverified workers and over 1,000 suspected ghost employees in some county governments.

Ruku urged human resource managers to take personal responsibility for ensuring compliance with the new system, arguing that effective oversight begins with accurate employee records and transparent payroll processes.

The government believes full adoption of HRIS will help eliminate long-standing loopholes, strengthen accountability, and create a leaner, more efficient public service.

As the two-month deadline begins, attention will now turn to how quickly state agencies can comply with the directive and whether the threat to suspend salary payments will accelerate the transition to the new digital system.

The outcome could mark a major turning point in Kenya’s efforts to reform public sector payroll management and curb the costly problem of ghost workers that has persisted for decades.

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CS Ruku Orders State Agencies to Adopt New HRIS System or Risk Salary Payments Freeze