CS Ruku declares war aganist ghost workers
By Cynthia Lodite, August 4, 2025Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programme, Geoffrey Ruku, has declared the government’s plans on handling the ghost workers menace in the government offices.
According to Ruku, plans are underway by the government to monitor public servants’ activities within the office working days while at their work stations.
The CS has further revealed a plan by the government to roll up a system in September 2025, aimed at capturing the public servants’ movements, which, according to Ruku, will hold Public servants accountable.
The CS made his remarks in an interview with K24 television on Monday, August 4 2025, where he also defined who ghost workers are according to the public service of Kenya.
“We have started a process which will take two months by the end of September, we will have a platform, which we will do the piloting to see whether it captures what we need to see in public service,” Ruku said.
While further revealing what defines a ghost worker, Ruku revealed that patterns define a ghost worker, noting the clocking in and out of the office timings by public servants.
“Ghost workers are those who also report to work late or report to work on time, they stay at the work station one or two hours, disappear, they come again for thirty minutes and disappear,” Ruku said.
Ruku reveals new payroll plans
CS Ruku’s remarks sparked just a week after he revealed plans by the government to introduce new mobile-based payroll systems for civil servants in an aim to eliminate ghost workers in public service.
At the time, the Public Service Cabinet Secretary, during a radio interview, stated that the new system will be mandatory for all public servants, also adding that the app is designed to complement the existing payroll system.
Ruku also noted that going forward, all government employees using the application will not only be able to confirm their employment status but also their office presence.
“All workers are now being paid through a new digital system, which confirms not just employment but actual presence in the office,” said Ruku.
Notably, the CS also acknowledged that previously, there were many ghost workers listed on the payroll who had never reported to work.
“Previously, there were many ghost workers—people listed on the payroll who never reported to work.”