Siaya staff wages grew by Sh600 million in one year - Auditor General

Siaya County governor Cornel Rasanga during tentative programme on national land at Flamingo hotel Mombasa on July 18, 2013. /FILE
Siaya County governor Cornel Rasanga during tentative programme on national land at Flamingo hotel Mombasa on July 18, 2013. /FILE

Siaya county government staff wages grew from Sh1 billion to Sh1.6 billion in the 2014-15 financial year, raising eyebrows among auditors.

The Auditor General said there was a 53 per cent jump in compensation for employees yet there was no provision for it in the budget.

Edward Ouko's report says that included in this was an "out of payroll" expenditure for wages of temporary employees.

This totalled Sh102.7 million which was not supported by a detailed listing of those paid.

The report also says the basic personal allowances paid included salaries which increased from Sh185.8 million in 2013-14 to Sh625.7 million in 2014-15.

The total Sh1.6 billion paid to the Siaya county employees was 38 per cent of the total county revenue, which is above the 35 per cent limit set by law.

"The county government is in breach of the law," the Auditor General's report says.

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The report also says that the county's financial statements, on Sh1.3 billion for expenditure on purchase of good and services, cannot be confirmed.

This, it says, is because the amount was understated by Sh14.5 million in the statements, and differs from what was stated in the ledger.

The report also questions the Sh5.5 million procurement of consultancy services to a firm for a human resource audit for the county.

The Auditor General says there was no documentary evidence to confirm the service was competitively sourced and that the services were not scheduled in the annual procurement plan.

"Although the consultants report was made available, the implementation of the same could not be confirmed. Consequently, the propriety of the Sh5,524,077 expenditure could not be confirmed," the report says.

Ouko also says there was no evidence to confirm that health supplements obtained outside the procurement plan, and for which Sh1.6 million was paid, were received and issued to the user department.

The report also says Sh3.7 million paid to the Council of Governors should be refunded as the law provides that this is an expenditure of the national government.

There is also some Sh38.6 million for refurbishment on non-residential buildings, an amount which the Auditor General says is not supported by either analysis or documentation.

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The Auditor General further questions the value of an irregular procurement of internet services at an annual cost of Sh18 million, which was singled-sourced with no evaluation of awarding minutes available.

A sum of Sh92 million was included in the imprest account balance as a transfer from the Health ministry but the case book and bank statements were not availed.

"In addition, the account has not been configured in the Integrated Financial Managements Information System (IFMIS)," the report says.

The report also says the county executive has not given any justification as to why an officer had not surrendered Sh36 million in imprest by the end of the financial year.

The Public Finance Management (county government) Regulations require that imprest is accounted for or surrendered within seven working days after officers return to their stations.

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