Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Nassir has called for a human resource audit of all county staff in a move aimed at busting out ghost workers.

The governor was breathing out fire as he said that the exercise to be conducted on Wednesday will entail the capturing of biometrics and pictures of each and every staff.

This he said was non-negotiable adding that Mombasa has very hardworking people, yet there are a few pulling them back.

“The issue of whether your biometrics will be integrated to salaries is secondary, primary is that we know you are not a robot”

“We want to make sure that we are paying humans salaries because humans have finger prints and they have a face, on this one there is no backing off,” said Nassir.

He was speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the county government of Mombasa and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) outside the county assembly building.

The MOU is to cushion the county to pay staff salary on time incase disbursements from the national treasury delay.

The governor said that he will be the first one to get his biometrics and picture taken saying that he cannot allow the sweat of other be equally enjoyed by those who are not there.

“We must know each other, no one will escape from this because Mombasa people need services and that will only happen if we are able to identify all of you. It is just not a matter of paying salaries yet we don’t know where some of you are,” Nassir said.

The governor also called out on those speaking ill of his administration and that of his predecessor Hassan Joho saying that devolution had its fair share of challenges.

During his campaigns, Nassir promised that he will not poke holes into the previous regime, but rather pick the good and where necessary, work with the staff to rectify any wrong.

“We must appreciate the fact that just like others have retired, I will also one day retire. So let us not be people who just talk for the sake of talking, let us look into issues that will take Mombasa  forward”

“In my first 90 days in office, I have already paid three months in full without any areas and delayed statuary deductions,” he said.

The governor also issued orders for the county to pay one month salary immediately adding that he will further negotiate with KCB to allow county government staff are able to access car and house loans.

KCB CEO Paul Russo lauded the signing of the MOU saying that this was the beginning of a partnership between the bank and the county.

Russo alluded to the fact that KCB was the only bank that agreed to pay county staff salaries between April to August as everybody stopped for fear that they were not going to get paid.

“This MOU opens the opportunity for us to deliver meaningful solutions to your staff, whether it is personal banking, whether it is car loans or land and houses, that governor we will partner with your team to deliver on that,” said Russo.

Likoni MP Mishi Mboko called on the governor to address the issue of delayed salaries once and for all.

She lauded Nassir’s predecessor Joho saying that he had done his bit in setting up the infrastructure as she called on Nassir to now work on the human capital to ensure their welfare is taken care off.

“I want to advise you that if you want to be a happy man and successfully retain your seat, please solve the salary issue, it will be a smooth ride for you to defend your seat. I served with you in Parliamentary Investment Commitee in parliament, I know you will deliver on this,” said Mboko.

“This is a new dawn, the issue of salary delays and statuary deductions being delayed should also be in the past in this new political dispensation”

Mboko further urged Nassir to ensure that he blocks all corruption loopholes in the county

She also urged the governor to ensure that promotion of county staff is done on merit.  She insisted that it should not be done on the basis of who one knows or is related to who because this will be unfair to others who are not connected but deserve a promotion.

“I have received some scenarios of people saying that their colleagues who came in later have been promoted yet they have stayed in the same position for year. Let us promote according to merit and on an equal basis, the issue of godfathers should neither be here or there,” she said.

The Likoni MP said that if someone has upgraded his academic papers and has been added duties, they need to be promoted and not stagnate in the same job group