Voters petition Senate to probe mismanagement of funds in Mandera

Two voters in Mandera county have petitioned the Senate to investigate alleged misappropriation and mismanagement of funds by the devolved unit.

Abdirizak Salim and Abdirahman Adan Hussein want the Senate to conduct a special audit with regard to the management of funds allocated to Mandera County Government for the financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024.

The two want senators to establish the exact amount of pending bills in Mandera county, if any and companies that are owed by the county.

They prayed that the lawmakers compel the Controller of Budget to avail to the Senate its report for the period 2022/2023 and 2023/2024, in respect of Mandera county or its latest report as soon as it is practicable under the law.

The petitioners also prayed that the Auditor General avails to the House its audit report for the period of 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 in respect of Manderac county or such latest report.

“Your humble petitioners pray that the House does recommend that any Mandera county officer found to have misappropriated funds to be arrested, arraigned in a court of law and they be prosecuted,” the petition reads in part.

The two also called for an investigation to be conducted on the tendering process which in their view is done in the most unprofessional manner.

They further said the office of the Ombudsman should carry an audit of public service rendered by the administration and the County Public Service Board and publish a report thereof.

Salim and Hussein said it is unlawful, illegal and unprocedural for the administration in Mandera County to expend resources to a function not devolved or to a function which is the responsibility of the National Government.

He said this would amount to diversion of county resources to unauthorised use.

The two claimed that in the first quarter of the financial year 2022/20223, the County Executive spent Sh1.53 billion on employees' compensation while the County Assembly did not incur any expenditure during the reporting period. 

Regulation 25(1)(b) of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations 2015, sets a limit of the County Executive expenditure on wages and benefits at 35 per cent of the county’s total revenue.

“Expenditure on compensation to employees of Sh1.53 billion was 80.6 per cent of the annual released revenue of Sh1.8 billion,” the petition reads.

The petition said the County Treasury reported that the pending bills had accumulated to Sh2.13 billion and that an internal audit committee was verifying it.

“The Controller of Budget’s report for the financial year 2022/23 indicates the county unutilised funds/cash balance amounted to Sh525.77 million despite pilling pending bills total of Sh3.09 billion. It is incomprehensible how the county could end up having pending bills of that magnitude when there are available funds,” the petition says.

The petitioners added that the county’s own source of revenue has decreased by Sh10.37 million.

They said Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in her report dated March 9, 2023 noted that County Executive had pending accounts payables as at June 30, 2022 of Sh500 million relating to supply of work, goods and services, salary arrears of Sh1.20 billion and legal fee arrears of Sh82 million.