The Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has directed the Office of the Auditor-General to conduct an in-depth analysis to establish the exact amount owed by the 47 county governments to their employees in delayed salaries, unremitted statutory deductions, gratuity, pension contributions, and Sacco remittances.

The Committee took the decision after expressing concern over a recurring pattern in which county governments deduct money from employees’ salaries but fail to remit the funds to the relevant agencies.

CPAC Chairperson Senator Moses Kajwang’ (Homa Bay) said the Committee was particularly concerned by the inordinate delays in settling gratuity payments for contracted staff after they exit service, a situation he noted has pushed many former employees into financial hardship.

“It is now clear that counties are mistreating the people who work for them,” Senator Kajwang’ said as he directed the Auditor-General to carry out the analysis.

The directive was issued during a session in which the Committee grilled Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka over queries raised by the Auditor-General in the county’s financial statements for the 2024/2025 financial year.

Although the analysis will cover all 47 counties, the Committee ordered the Auditor-General to begin with Bungoma County, which was the focus of Monday’s deliberations.

Bungoma County has yet to pay gratuity to staff who served under former Governor Wycliffe Wangamati during the five-year period between 2017 and 2022. While Governor Lusaka confirmed that staff who served between 2013 and 2017 had been paid, he ran into trouble when Bungoma Senator David Wakoli pointed out that gratuity for tutors who served during Lusaka’s first term in 2014 had not been settled.

By the end of the last financial year on June 30, 2025, the county owed its employees Sh549 million in unremitted pension contributions. According to the Auditor-General, Bungoma County had accumulated salary arrears amounting to Sh1.7 billion by the same date, covering unpaid salaries for May and June 2025.

Governor Lusaka told the Committee that the Sh1.7 billion in salary arrears had since been settled, leaving a balance of Sh549 million comprising unremitted statutory deductions to pension firms and other agencies.

The Governor attributed the problem to the failure of the previous administration to remit deductions and supported calls for accountability against those responsible.

“Those who failed to remit deducted salaries must be pursued and prosecuted,” Governor Lusaka said, appearing to blame the Wangamati administration.

He urged the Auditor-General to conduct a deeper analysis of the Sh549 million to determine whether the deductions relate to taxes, pension contributions, Sacco remittances, or other statutory obligations.

The Committee directed the Auditor-General to adopt an aging analysis approach, categorizing outstanding obligations based on how long they have remained unpaid, to help identify chronic delays, track payment trends, and inform corrective action.

The Auditor-General was ordered to submit a consolidated report covering all 47 counties to the Committee within seven days.

Governor Lusaka was also questioned over the accumulation of pending bills, the absence of an internal audit committee, delays in establishing the County Public Service Board (CPSB), and what the Committee described as disregard for procurement laws, which has resulted in the termination of contracts without due process.