Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG) and Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, on Tuesday, June 6, failed to appear before a senate committee seeking clarity on a Ksh65.7 billion pension fund.
Waiguru was summoned by the Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds led by Vihiga Senator, Godfrey Osotsi.
According to the committee, the CoG chairperson did not communicate her absence in time, prompting the senators to postpone the meeting.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u and Controller of Budget Nancy Gathungu also failed to honour the Senate summons to shed light on the funds.
Members of the committee argued that employees from various counties were deducted money for their pension, but the funds were yet to be disbursed.
Waiguru's Kirinyaga County was also accused of failing to channel the money to the Local Authorities Pensions Trust (LAPTRUST) and the Local Authorities Provident Fund (LAPFUND). However, a similar case was witnessed across various counties, with Nairobi said to have incurred the largest debt.
The national and county governments, they argued, put the retirees in a precarious position, forcing them to seek alternatives to make ends meet.
On May 29, the Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU) secretary general, Ali Roba, called upon the committee to resolve the crisis.
Roba argued that the pension debts accrued due to the onset of devolution and insufficient regulation and enforcement.
He suggested the National Treasury be empowered to directly distribute funds to pension schemes and enforce compliance with the remittance of statutory deductions through the Office of the Controller of Budget.
Roba pushed for the County Governments Act to be revised to hold officeholders accountable for the non-remittance of pension funds.
"The workers could lose their savings if the issue is not urgently resolved," he lamented.
President William Ruto, in November 2022, tasked all public institutions with enacting frameworks to ensure all outstanding pension liabilities are cleared in full within two years.
He lamented that institutions were collecting money from contributors and not remitting it to pension schemes or SACCOs.
“I want the government and pension entities to agree on a framework for the payments to be done in two years. I do this because I won’t be the President who continues to take our country on the road of debt.
"This is an effort to reduce government borrowing,” Ruto stated at the Pension Sector Stakeholders Convention.
