The National Treasury has indicated that civil servants' salaries for the month of July will hit accounts late following an advisory of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the government to implement a new payroll system.
The changes will see delays in the remittance of July 2023 salaries for all state workers.
According to Treasury, the system is being migrated from an old manual Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD) to the New Online Unified Human Resource (UHR) system.
In a memo circulated to civil servants, the Ministry of Public Service noted that the government is experiencing a major technical hitch affecting the processing of State payrolls.
"This is to inform you all that there has been a delay in the processing of salaries for the month of July 2023, due to the logistic challenges occasioned by the migration of the old manual Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD) system to the New Online Unified Human Resource (UHR) system," the memo read in parts.
Treasury has noted that the ongoing upgrade is good for the country since it will boost the management of payrolls as the State seeks to weed out ghost workers who had previously led to massive financial losses.
The advisory by IMF was supported by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) which noted that the Unified Human Resource (UHR) system will help track national and county government salaries remittance and seal off graft loopholes.
UHR system is a web-based system that integrates all human resource (HR) data and processes for the public service in order to streamline payroll under a module that calculates salaries, deductions, and allowances.
Other features include a leave module that manages leave for all public servants. This includes tracking leave entitlements, leave applications, and leave approvals.
UHR System also has a performance management module that manages the performance appraisal process for all public servants. This includes setting performance targets, tracking performance, and conducting performance appraisals.
The training module is key in processing and designing training needs for all public servants. This includes tracking training requirements, identifying training courses, and registering for training courses.
The recruitment module is vital when it comes to the management of the recruitment process for all public servants. This includes advertising vacancies, shortlisting candidates, and conducting interviews.
This is the second time government employees will be having their salaries delayed. In April 2023, the country experienced unprecedented delays in salary remittance due to a cash crunch, after President William Ruto insisted that his administration would not borrow to remunerate public servants.
At the time, Ruto explained that the government was forced to prioritise other crucial State expenditures like honouring debt obligations over civil servants' salaries.
The delay also means that a number of civil servants will not be able to meet their monthly bills like house rents, and other statutory deductions such as the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) as well as the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
It is also expected that the delay would mean that the affected civil servants will not be able to repay loans that they took from various financial institutions, including banks and Saccos.
