• Audit report flagged six procurement irregularities that could have put public money at risk of loss in Makueni.
• The Senate Health Committee is investigating the spending of the cash meant to aid the war on the coronavirus.
Image: JACK OWUOR
Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana was Wednesday taken to task for irregular procurement of Covid-19 items amounting to Sh34.56 million.
The Senate Health Committee put the governor on the spot, demanding explanations for the irregularities flagged by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in her special report on the utilisation of Covid-19 funds by Kibwana's administration.
The Makueni county chief appeared before the committee chaired by Trans Nzoia Senator Michael Mbito. The team is investigating the spending of the cash meant to aid the war on the coronavirus. The government granted counties billions of shillings to boost the fight.
Gathungu's report flagged six procurement irregularities that could have put public money at risk of loss in Makueni. The county awarded a tender worth Sh850,000 to Mbimbini Merchants for the supply of surgical masks on May 28, 2020.
“However, inspection reviews of stores records revealed that the surgical masks were received on April 22 as per the bin card number and were issued even before the requisition was raised,” the report says.
Kibwana said the items were received on May 28, 2020, and not April 22, 2020, as captured. He said the date captured in the report was erroneous.
“During recording in the stores, the consignment was erroneously recorded in the stores card as for April 22, 2020. It should be noted that there was only one officer who was manning the stores at the time,” he said.
The governor said the store manager was "overwhelmed and therefore prone to making clerical mistakes" as he was a nursing officer who was also doing other nursing duties and not a professional store keeper.
But the senators were not convinced. Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr claimed that the ‘erroneous’ entry was deliberate.
“Did you attend an exit interview with auditors because if you are talking about erroneous entries, then it is a bit disbursing,” Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina asked.
Kibwana said the entry was not intentional.
The audit report shows that the county government, through chief Health officer Patrick Kibwana, notified System Star Guru Investment of the award of a Sh1.7 million tender to supply 20,000 surgical masks. Patrick is the brother of the governor.
The notification, however, did not specify the time frame to accept the award and the expected quantities.
Nevertheless, the firm delivered the items on June 25, 2020. The items were inspected and accepted on the same day.
But inspection and review of store records revealed the items were delivered on June 24 as per the bin card.
Governor Kibwana attributed the discrepancies to the lack of a professional store record keeper.
“The county government noted the recommendation of the audit that the store's staff needs to be trained on assets and store management to ensure that they are properly accounted for and safeguarded against losses,” he said.
Senator Mutula accused the county of intentionally using manual records to pilfer public items.
“This issue of manual records is deliberate so that some of these items can end up in private facilities. It is deliberate pilferage,” Mutula said.
But Kibwana challenged his senator to provide evidence that items meant for public hospitals were diverted to private clinics.
Gathungu had also queried lack of minutes for opening and evaluation of the procurement of goods worth Sh10.41 million.
The tender was for the supply of Viral Transport Medium and surgical masks.
“In addition, there was no evidence of Dr. Patrick Kibwana, chief officer health, approving the awards based on the professional opinion rather the procurement officer did the approval through the system,” the report says.
Kibwana said the chief officer did not provide tender opening and evaluation minutes as the county has fully adopted electronic procurement as directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“In E-procurement, the chief officer appoints the evaluation committee and they log into the ifmis with their credentials to carry out evaluation hence pave way for the opening committee to log in and open the quotes online,” he said.
The audit also faulted the chief officer for not awarding a Sh793, 400 million tender for the supply of 18 units of 20 litres of spray pumps and 300 hand sprays of 1.5 litres each.
Key Links Enterprises was recommended for the award as per the government’s Ifmis evaluation mark report done on May 8, 2020.
Kibwana was also asked to explain why his administration spent Sh58.83 million grant for frontline health workers without an approved budget. The report flagged an overpayment of health workers by Sh2.19 million.
The governor said the county spent the cash without a budget as it was a directive from the national government to spend the cash as soon as possible on payment of allowances for frontline health workers.
Kibwana said the expenditure was later regularised in a supplementary budget approved by the county assembly.
He said the overpayment was cash given as allowances to health workers who had been contracted by the county but were not factored in the grants released by the national government.
Edited by P.O