Thousands of county government employees, including Members of County Assembly (MCAs), are facing financial distress after their salaries were heavily slashed due to loan repayments and statutory deductions, leaving many with less than a third of their earnings.

An audit covering the year ending June 2024 revealed that at least 41 MCAs were among those most affected.

Nairobi had 15 MCAs taking home less than a third of their pay, Makueni had 22, while Kakamega had four.

The deductions, which include loan repayments and mandatory contributions, have placed a severe strain on workers, contrary to legal provisions that protect employees from excessive salary cuts.

“The excessive deductions resulted from management allowing the staff to incur loans and other liabilities whose repayments were deducted by checkoff and which put the officers at the risk of pecuniary embarrassment,” an audit on the Nairobi County Assembly revealed.

Kenyan law bars employers from deducting more than two-thirds of an employee’s salary to ensure workers can meet their basic needs.

However, the audit found that 1,325 county assembly workers had more than two-thirds of their salaries deducted over the year.

Makueni County was among the hardest hit, with an audit stating that “22 MCAs and seven members of staff received a net salary which was less than one-third of their basic salary.

This was contrary to Section 19(3) of the Employment Act, 2007 which states that the total amount of deduction of the wages of an employee shall not exceed two-thirds of such wages.”

The issue is widespread across several counties. Kisumu had 288 affected workers, Narok had 177, Busia had 131, and Turkana had an average of 261 workers per month taking home less than a third of their salaries.

Turkana saw the numbers rise from 303 in January to 367 in June 2024.

The problem is compounded by rising statutory deductions, including contributions to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and the Housing Levy.

Over the past year, a total of 21,647 county executive staff earned less than a third of their salaries, up from 8,514 in the previous year. In total, 22,972 county employees were affected.

In Kiambu County, where Sh571 million was spent on salaries, 53 employees were found to be taking home less than a third of their pay, prompting concerns about financial distress and reduced efficiency in service delivery.

“This may lead to pecuniary embarrassment and inefficiency in discharging of duties by the affected officers,” the Auditor-General warned.