Garissa Roads and transport executive Nassir Mohamed was on Friday taken to task by the county assembly committee on roads and public works to explain the existing gaps and inconsistencies in the department’s Quarterly Reports.
The executive had been invited to provide clarification on the first, second, third and fourth quarterly reports after an earlier submission was found to be shallow and lacking in critical details required for proper oversight.
Committee members took Nassir to task over several issues, including why certain projects were reported as complete while in reality they had not been finalised at the time of reporting; why some budgeted projects were missing from the department’s quarterly report; and the omission of crucial data such as contract start and end dates, budgeted amounts and project timelines.
Members of the Garissa County Assembly committee on roads
and public works.
The session was necessitated by the committee’s review of the departmental reports, which exposed inconsistencies and raised accountability questions.
Members insisted that such gaps undermined their ability to fully discharge their oversight mandate as required by law.
Committee chairperson Abdirahman Mohamed Ali (Sankuri), who presided over the meeting, underscored the need for accuracy, transparency and accountability in reporting, noting that incomplete reports hindered service delivery and eroded public trust.
In his response, Nassir tabled documents listing project names and their implementation status, while requesting additional time to furnish the committee with the full details sought.
He further recommended that the committee invite the Finance and Economic Planning executive to provide clarifications on the budgetary aspects of the projects, noting that such matters fell within that department’s mandate.
“Why is it difficult for the executive to avail us the details on the contractors and project amounts, albeit his department having an accounting officer?” Abdirahman posed.
The chairperson further directed the Finance executive to appear before the committee with the complete set of documents, including details on contractors, project amounts, timelines, and other missing data.
The committee resolved to seek more comprehensive documentation from the department to ensure future reports reflect the true status of projects, complete with financial and timeline details, in line with the principles of accountability and transparency.
The session was attended by MCAs Omar Abdi (Damajale), Noor Sheikh Farah (Jarajila), Abdi Muhyadin (Sangailu), Khadija Idriss and Halima Hussein, who all pressed the executive to explain the discrepancies.
