Marsabit County on spot over unaccounted expenditure in 8.2bn budget

Marsabit County government risks losing out on some Sh161 million in grants under the Kenya Devolution Support Programme over alleged misappropriation of some of the funds allocated to the county in the financial year 2020/2021.

This follows a recent adverse opinion by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu over unexplained expenditure in the Sh8.2 billion budget for the year under scrutiny and whose financial statements did not correspond with the records availed during the audit.

The audit queries include exaggeration of financial statements, unsupported expenditure on the use of goods and services, inaccuracies in cash and cash equivalents and unsupported county own generated receipts.

Under the overstatement of financial statements, the Governor Mohamud Ali administration did not provide supporting documents for Sh11.8 million paid to casuals engaged in waste collection in Saku Sub-County. The money was part of Sh127.4 million set aside to take care of wages for temporary employees.

Also, some Sh36.9 million paid to 131 Early Childhood Education (ECDE) teachers through the manual payroll system could not be verified with the county unable to explain to the auditors why the teachers were not included in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD) system as required in law.

The county was also found to have breached the law by overpaying a Sh60.7 million stipend to some youths engaged through a work placement programme for a period of one year, effective March 2020, an expenditure that could not be verified.

Out of some Sh42.6 million set aside for training expenses, the county did not provide documents to prove payment of Sh10.3 million to members of staff as allowances to attend official duties away from their workstations, which in itself was an illegality as should have been advanced with imprest.

Unsupported expenditures

Other unsupported expenditures included Sh16 million, which was part of Sh77.8 million allocated for fuel, oil and lubricants, Sh4.8 million spent on procurement of assorted sporting items and Sh3.4 million paid to county officers and participants as per diems and other allowances for various training and workshops.

In addition, of the 2,174 county staff targeted under the Sh55.8 million comprehensive medical cover, only 493 workers benefited with their records, the only ones provided during the audit.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu. A recent adverse opinion by her office brought to light the unexplained expenditure for Marsabit County's Sh8.2 billion budget whose financial statements did not correspond with the records availed during the audit. (Photo: OAG)

The county did not account for Sh19.5 million used to purchase and supply maize, beans and cooking oil, Sh3.6 million spent on supply and delivery of success cards and other items used by candidates during national exams and Sh38.2 million paid to an automobile company for procurement of motor vehicles.

“A review of the summary of the fixed assets register revealed that additional motor vehicles were not included,” the report read in part.

The devolved unit, during the period, paid Sh2 million for the procurement of 400 fishing gear, equipment that had not been delivered by October 2021. They were to be issued out by the Boat Management Unit responsible for fishing in Lake Victoria at the Loyangalani Sub-County office.

The audit team could also not verify the validity of the expenditure of Sh118.8 million Covid funds which had been brought forward from the previous year 2019/2020.

During the year under review, the county spent Sh89.9 million and the balance of Sh28.8 million was not included in the bank balance as at June 30, 2021, according to the report.

“The accuracy of the Covid-19 funds balance totalling Sh28.8 million and validity of the expenditure of Sh89.9 million could not be confirmed,” the report indicated.

The auditors also established that the Sh2.5 billion for compensation of employees had been exaggerated with a whooping Sh91.9 million after the re-computation of financial statement amounts using the Integrated Financial Management System (Ifmis) chart of account codes.

Under-reporting in the county's own generated receipts was also reported with revenue records provided for the Hospital Facility Improvement Fund showing an unexplained variance of Sh1.4 million.

Some Sh4.1 million paid for membership subscriptions to the County Assemblies Forum was also found to have been in breach of the law.

The Auditor General also flagged the county for presenting financial statements for audit of Emergency, Car Loan and Mortgage funds that were not signed by the respective fund managers or the chief officers and for engaging casuals for more than three months against the Employment Act 2007.

Governor Mohamud Ali found himself on the receiving end as the Senate Public Accounts Committee led by Homabay Senator Moses Kajwang put him to task over the audit queries.

The watchdog committee directed the county boss to convene a meeting between the county Finance team and representatives from the Auditor General’s office to authenticate all documents in his possession so that they are certified.

The directive came after the Governor presented to the committee, documents that were undated and uncertified.