Murang'a county could have paid in excess of Sh221.52 million in salaries to non-existent staff in the 2020-21 fiscal year, a new audit report shows.
This comes even as irregular procurements, unsupported expenditures, and questionable pending bills dog Governor Mwangi Wa Iria's government.
These are some of the key issues flagged by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in her report that exposes what could be interpreted as financial rot in Murang’a county executive.
According to the report in which the auditor gave an adverse opinion, implying that the county’s financial books were in a total mess, Murang’a paid Sh221.52 million in salaries to some 252 permanent employees.
Ironically, the lot was not captured in the automated integrated payroll personnel database (IPPD) system.
This is contrary to circular by the National Treasury that requires personnel emoluments to be supported by IPPD to avoid payment to nonexistent staff, otherwise known as ghost workers.
“The explanation given by the management was that these officers did not have personal numbers,” the report said.
In what could put the county on the spot weeks to the end of Governor Wairia’s term, the auditor said that this exposed the county to unauthorised payments.
“However, there is a risk of unauthorised payments as the staff-shelf payroll is not integrated and centrally managed and controlled in public personnel database,” the auditor said.
Gathungu also revealed several irregular and unsupported procurements and expenditures in the county executive.
The county used restricted tendering meaning it dished tenders to select firms without giving justification.
For instance, the county awarded Sh7.16 million contracts to two companies for the transportation of fertiliser from the National Cereals and Produce Board depots to eight subcounties.
“The contracts were awarded through restricted tendering and no justification was provided for the use of the method instead of open national tender,” the report reads in part.
“In addition, the contract for the two firms and the mandatory bidding documents for one of the firms were not provided for audit review while the tax compliance certificate for the other firm has expired.”
The county could also not account for the Sh16.10 million spent on buying an Intensive Care Unit as there were no supporting documents.
Crucial documents such as tender opening minutes and tender evaluation minutes were not provided for audit review.
“Therefore, there was no evidence of compliance with section 80(1) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015 that requires the evaluation committee to evaluate and compare the responsive tenders,” Gathungu said in the report.
It was the same case with the procurement of ICT equipment for the Murang’a County Referral Hospital ICU unit.
The Sh1.60 million item was procured but key supporting documents such as tender opening minutes, evaluation committee minutes, and inspection and acceptance committee minutes were not provided for audit review.
Procurement records were also not availed for some Sh2 million paid to a firm for supply of 80,000 tree seedlings.
Gathungu also raised issues with the procurement of Sh2.89 million in water pipes for the water extension project at the Kaharo dispensary.
While quotations were floated, the evaluation committee did not consider the validity of mandatory documents submitted by the bidders as the winning bidder had a tax registration certificate dated December 3, 2012, while the firm was incorporated on September 10, 2013.
“It is not clear how the firm obtained a tax registration certificate before its incorporation,” the report said.
The county also paid Sh2.25 million for architectural consultancy services but failed to provide procurement documents for audit review.
The auditor questioned the validity of some Sh1.25 billion disclosed by the county as its pending bills.
While the county disclosed Sh1.25 billion, it could only support Sh409.50 billion, leaving an unexplained variance of Sh849.43 million.
“In view of the above, the disclosures made on the balance of the pending bills are insufficient and do not comply with the reporting requirements prescribed by the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board,” the report said.
Murang’a executive has also been fingered for failing to meet its own source revenue target by a whopping Sh279.98 million, putting a dent in its budget.
Further, Gathungu said failure to hit revenue targets has been the trend in the last five financial years.
Cumulatively, the county’s own source revenue shortfall during the 2016-17 and 2020-21 financial years stands at Sh2.83 billion.
“Failure to realise budgeted revenue affected the planned activities and may have affected negatively on the service delivery to the public,” the auditor said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
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