• In this financial year, Sh4.5 million will be spent on the ward bursary fund after an increase of Sh1million from last year' Sh3.5 million.
•To date Sh50 million bursary funds cannot be accounted for in FY 2019-20.
City Hall cannot account for at least Sh50 million from 2019 to date after shifting from cheques to electronic funds transfer for bursaries.
The loss occurred despite the Nairobi government using electronic funds transfer directly to schools to curb corruption.
However, Nairobi MCAs have made a 180-degree turn and passed a motion to reintroduce cheques.
“It might not be exactly Sh50 million but we have lost a lot of money that cannot be accounted for since we decided to directly transfer money to schools,” Highrise MCA Kennedy Oyugi said.
It is expected in this financial year ending June 30, 2022, Sh4.5 million will be spent on the ward bursary fund after an increase of Sh1 million from last year's Sh3.5 million.
MCAs argued the voucher system for disbursing funds has caused too many problems since it was adopted in 2019.
Under that system, parents were given vouchers that were supposed to correspond to electronic transfers for their children.
Oyugi, who moved the motion, blamed schools' accountants and bursars for negligence and failing to reconcile the vouchers and the school bank accounts.
“I have over 50 vouchers lying idle in the office because they cannot be traced. There is nothing to show a particular payment belongs to a certain student," he said.
Oyugi said schools have different bank accounts and it can be difficult reconciling the vouchers with the different accounts.
As a result, parents have to print statements to confirm the voucher payments.
“Due to lack of reconciliation, parents whose children learn in different counties are forced to cater for travel expenses just to verify information concerning the vouchers, which is very inconvenient,” he added.
The cheques, however, used to be physically given to parents or guardians who applied and received them from the legislator's office.
Supporting the motion, Umoja One MCA Mark Mugambi also faulted the electronic transfer system, saying monies could not be traced to beneficiaries.
"In my ward, I have Sh400,000 that cannot be traced to the beneficiaries. Monies have already been transferred but we can't trace the owners," he said.
At City Hall, the finance office can only tell you a certain amount was sent to a certain school, Mugambi added.
Kayole Central MCA Jeremiah Themendu claimed the voucher system was introduced to embarrass and intimidate MCAs.
“The person who introduced the vouchers thought he was punishing MCAs but ended up punishing parents and children,” he said.
Former Governor Mike Sonko introduced electronic transfer of bursary funds directly to schools. There were claims of county officials and MCAs banking the cheques in their companies' or proxy accounts, leading to the loss of millions of shillings meant for learners.
Assembly education committee chairperson Silvyia Museiya said the voucher system has resulted in "theft" of bursaries.
“We moved from the frying pan into the fire. The introduction of vouchers in the disbursement of bursaries has faced a series of challenges.
"Monies deposited in various schools’ accounts could not be verified by the county accounts department due to discrepancies between the vouchers and the electronic transfer system," she said.
Deputy Majority leader Peter Wanyoike said the county had turned to the vouchers to safeguard the money but they have been turned into a cash cow.
He claimed each of the 85 wards has had trouble and ended up almost losing half of the bursaries through the voucher system.
Bursary scandals are not new at City Hall as MCAs and the Executive have been at loggerheads over the issue.
In May 2018, MCAs and beneficiaries complained about the large number of dishonoured cheques due to conflicting signatures and name mismatches.
In June 2018, it was revealed that Sh297.5 million worth of bursary funds were erroneously sent to a bank account belonging to the University of Maryland, Australia, baffling the MCAs.
Explaining the issue, the Executive said accountants erroneously picked the health donor fund account instead of the bursary account.
Last September, MCAs raised queries over Sh297.5 million bursary funds allegedly used to pay garbage collection contractors and lawyers.
This report came at a time when schools were set to reopen from October after a seven-month closure following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Edited by V. Graham)