Ruku pledges to tackle unemployment and ghost workers if approved as CS
Mbeere North MP and CS nominee for Public Service, Human Capital Development, and Special Programmes Geoffrey Ruku has pledged to prioritise the fight against unemployment and eliminate ghost workers in government if approved for the position.
Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments chaired by Speaker Moses Wetang’ula on Monday, April 14, 2025, Ruku promised to introduce a digital system to help track and eliminate ghost workers from the public service.
He said the new system would ensure accountability and improve service delivery across government departments.
He explained that ghost workers are not necessarily people who do not exist on the payroll but include those who report to work and then disappear shortly after. He cited an example of medical personnel such as doctors and clinical officers who clock in and leave within minutes to attend to patients at their private clinics.
“We are indeed experiencing ghost workers in public service and my definition of a ghost worker is someone employed in public service and reports to work but disappears after 10 or so minutes. We have cases where doctors or clinical officers report to work and disappear after a few minutes to other clinics,” he said.
Ruku also assured the committee that if given the chance to serve, he would do so without fear or favour. He promised to streamline unemployment issues by creating equal job opportunities and emphasized that there would be no room for nepotism in hiring practices under his leadership.
“I will serve without fear or favour, streamline unemployment issues, and create job opportunities without nepotism. I will also develop a digital system to address the issue of ghost workers. No nepotism as far as employment is concerned,” he stated.
He further stressed the importance of creating an enabling environment for businesses to grow, noting that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that such conditions exist. As a Public Service CS, he said, he would work to make sure public institutions support development and economic growth.
“The work of the government is to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and as Public Service CS, I will endeavour to ensure that,” he added.
On March 26, 2025, President William Ruto nominated the lawmaker as the CS for Public Service, Human Capital Development, and Special Programmes.
If approved, the staunch supporter of Kenya Kwanza administration will be replacing Justin Muturi, who was dismissed from the position.
