CS Mbadi Issues New Directives on Public Servants’ Payroll

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has directed all county governments to integrate their payrolls into the online Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD) within one month, warning that the move is critical in eliminating ghost workers.
Speaking at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) during the launch of the FY 2026/27 and the Medium-Term Budget Preparation Process on Monday, Mbadi said the government would no longer tolerate resistance from counties on the matter.
“On integrating the payroll system, we have noted that counties are still resisting. The notion that we should wait for MDAs, county assemblies, or county executives is incorrect. When will they be ready?” he posed.
The CS revealed that counties spend an average of 55 per cent of their total revenue on salaries, both from their own source revenues and allocations from the national government, a practice he said was unlawful and unsustainable.
He decried the rampant existence of ghost workers,noting that many counties still run parallel manual, casual, and online payrolls.
According to him, this loophole has led to inflated wage bills, with some counties spending more than half of their annual revenues on salaries.
Mbadi further warned that counties had hired people who should not be on the payroll, creating a bloated workforce that was draining public resources through waste and duplication of roles.
He stressed that the new directive was not optional, insisting county executives must comply within a month to ensure proper accountability.
“This is an instruction, and therefore, county executives must be onboarded soonest,” he said.
The CS directed Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo to oversee the implementation of the new payroll measures, which he said were key to curbing ghost workers,reducing wastage, and addressing budget deficits.
On the eProcurement system, the CS directed all ministries, departments, and state agencies (MDAs) to fully implement the system in their procurement exercises, warning that the Treasury would not relent on the same.
According to Mbadi, some government employees made efforts to stifle the use of the system in an attempt to force a return to paper procurement, which was open to manipulation.