Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has announced that the government is working on launching a new mobile application that will be used to pay all civil servants across the country.
This move is part of a larger plan aimed at eliminating ghost workers from the public payroll system.
Speaking on Monday, July 28, during an interview on Radio Citizen, CS Ruku revealed that the government has already put in place a modern payroll system currently being used to process payments for civil servants.
However, he emphasized that the introduction of a dedicated mobile app will further strengthen the system and improve its overall effectiveness.
According to Ruku, the Ministry is collaborating with a local telecommunications company to develop the new mobile application. Once completed, all government workers will be required to download and install the app on their smartphones.
The app will not only handle salary payments but also track employee attendance at their respective workplaces.
“So far, we’ve started using a system that pays civil servants and confirms that they’re actually government employees and reporting to work. Previously, the country was losing a lot of money to ghost workers — people who appeared on the payroll but never showed up at the office,” the CS said.
He further explained that the upcoming app will allow the government to make improvements to the existing system, ensuring that only those who are present and active in their roles receive their salaries.
The app will help verify both physical presence and punctuality, eliminating loopholes that have previously allowed some individuals to misuse the system.
“Now, we are moving to a point where we will upgrade this payroll system so that every government worker must download this new app. This app will not only process payments but also confirm whether or not someone is actually reporting to their workstation,” Ruku added.
CS Ruku pointed out that ghost workers are not just those who are completely absent, but also employees who arrive late or spend office hours on personal business. He believes these behaviors have significantly affected service delivery in both county and national offices across Kenya.
He vowed to continue making unannounced visits to government offices to ensure that civil servants are sticking to their designated working hours and performing their duties as expected.
“To me, ghost workers are not just the ones who stay home while receiving salaries — they are also those who get to work late or leave the office to run private errands,” he emphasized.
This announcement follows closely after a previous press briefing on Tuesday, July 15, where the CS disclosed plans to introduce manual attendance registers in all government departments. These registers will be used to keep track of employee presence and ensure full accountability at the workplace.
Ruku also mentioned that in addition to tracking attendance, the government will require supervisors at all levels—from ministries to departments and agencies (MDAs)—to monitor employee satisfaction and performance as part of a broader civil service reform initiative.
“Moving forward, our aim is to engage supervisors at every level of administration and implement attendance registers to ensure that every civil servant has a clear schedule and is held accountable for their assigned tasks,” Ruku concluded.
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