Tana River leaders demand accountability after Sh1.82bn graft revelations in county expenditure

Days after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu released the audit report on counties, leaders and residents in Tana River County are demanding accountability after graft revelations over Sh1.82 billion expenditure.

Tana River County was listed as the top most wasteful spenders in the coast region joining the national list of six counties receiving adverse opinions from the Auditor General.

Other counties flagged alongside Tana River County with adverse opinion include Nyamira, Kiambu, Narok and Nairobi.

The Auditor General flagged Tana River County for unexplained and unsupported expenditures totalling to Sh1.82 Billion.

Some of the unclear expenditures the Auditor General flagged include Sh475 million paid for legal fees without supporting documents, noting that the county administration did not furnish the auditor with case files among other documents to justify the payment.

Others include Sh100 million used in domestic travel without supporting documents, Sh126 million used on salaries hence not accounted for in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) system and Sh22 million used on non-existent roads.

Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana has now called on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to swing into action and arrest officers at the Tana River County Government involved in graft.

Violation of PFM Act

Speaking in Ngao over the weekend where he commissioned the construction of an administration office, Senator Mungatana termed the failure to submit supporting documents for expenditures of Sh1.82 billion was inexcusable and a violation of the Public Finance Management Act.

According to the Senator, the report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu for the financial year ending June 2023 has revealed the theft of public money by the county's administration.

"The amount of money flagged by the Auditor General is not cheap change, heads must roll, people must account for that money starting with the Governor," he said.

Mungatana noted that failure by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)DCI and ODPP to address graft in the county has led to the theft.

He called on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) to process and act on the information from the auditor general.

"We want to see people taken to court and assets being recovered, this theft against the people of Tana River has to stop," he said.

The report by the auditor general has caused an uproar in the county, with civil society groups now threatening to spearhead protests until the perpetrators are brought to book.

According to the Chairperson of Civil Society Groups Dayd Dahir, the relevant bodies tasked with handling graft must now act accordingly.

He regretted that while the people of Tana River County were suffering, county officials were engaged in wasteful spending of the county resources and avoiding accountability.

This, he noted is the reason the county has not made any step to growth compared to the other five devolved units in the coast region.

His sentiments were echoed by the Youth Movement Chairperson, who reiterated the need for the EACC, ODPP and DCI to act.

"We are giving them only this week, we want to see accountability, failure to which we are going to lead week-long protests, "she said.