•Stadium track wearing out year after it was laid.
•Ouko on the spot over escalating pending bills now at Sh954m
A substandard race track at Machakos Stadium has put Governor Alfred Mutua’s administration under sharp scrutiny amid claims of irregularities in funds management.
In his latest review of the county accounts, Auditor General Edward Ouko says a third of the Sh35 million all-weather synthetic track is already worn out less than a year since it was laid.
By June 2017, the county had paid Sh25 million to the contractor. “In the circumstances, value for money in respect of this project was not realised,” the Auditor General says.
Ouko further questions why the county government irregularly paid Sh13.5 million to Football Kenya Federation (FKF).
The sports body was paid as support for CECAFA games held in the county between December 3 and December 17, 2017.
“The county sports ministry did not have a budget for the activity. There was no memorandum on how the funds were to be used. There was no acknowledgment of receipt by FKF. The regularity of the payment could not be confirmed,” according to Ouko's report tabled in the Senate last week.
He further queried the county's Sh954 million pending bills, some dating back to financial year 2010/11.
“Some of the reasons given for failure to settle the bills are that there are no funds. This is despite the statement of receipts showing there is a surplus of Sh1.34 billion.”
The auditor further accuses Mutua’s administration of failing to make available information on ongoing projects – mainly roads.
He says failure to complete the projects, some started in 2016, ties up funds and denies citizens services that would make a difference.
The county is also on the spot for making an irregular advance payment of Sh5.5 million to a contractor for works on a commercial development centre.
“A site visit in November last year revealed that the work was at the foundation level and the contractor had abandoned the site,” Ouko said.
Also on focus is work on a microwave and shredder house for machines donated by the national government. The contract was not advertised. There is no clarity on how the tender was awarded. Microwave and shredder are used to sterilise medical equipment and disposal of waste.
Some Sh4.8 million was paid to the contractor who has since abandoned the site and the works stalled, hence no value for money for citizens.
Ouko warns that the county might lose an office block at the Transport department which has stalled and is exposed to adverse weather conditions.
The contractor had logged in an interim certificate of Sh11 million after the county issued the firm with a default notice for failing to complete the project in time.
“The public risks losing money tied in the stalled project,” the auditor warns. He also questions why the county grounded ambulances and fire engines, defeating emergency response needs.
The audit further reveals that Mutua’s administration has failed to repossess houses built by the National Housing Corporation on behalf of the defunct Masaku County Council.
The houses were taken over by the national government and allocated to civil servants who pay rent to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
Still on matters land, the county failed to secure parcels of land valued at Sh961 million. The properties do not have title deeds and are prone to grabbing, as was reported in audits for 2015/16 and 2016/17.
Records showed that 18 plots of various sizes recognised as public utilities in Syokimau had been subdivided and allocated to individuals in unexplained circumstances.
“A physical check revealed that most of the land had been developed by private owners and others fenced off. No documents on the subdivision were made available for audit,” Ouko says.