• MPs Wamalwa and Pukose want Khaemba to honour summons by county PAC and answer mismanagement issues raised by Auditor General.
• They want him to complete all stalled development projects before the end of his term and "salvage his legacy".
Image: FILE
Trans Nzoia MPs want Governor Patrick Khaemba to appear before the County Assembly Public Accounts Committee to answer questions about alleged misspending reported by the Auditor General.
The MPs accuse Khaemba of a poor development record characterised by many stalled projects over eight years.
The 2018-19 audit by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu identified millions of shillings in discrepancies and unsupported expenditures.
Khaemba asked that the hearing before MCAs be postponed from Friday, June 4, due to 'unforeseeable circumstances'. He also said he needed time to prepare written submissions and requested a date in early July.
MPs said they would consider his request and decide. They emphasised, however, assembly committees are like the High Court and can force him to obey summonses.
MPs led by Chris Wamalwa of Kiminini and his Endebes counterpart Robert Pukose said construction of the Sh1.2 billion Kitale Referral Hospital was incomplete. It is one of Khaemba's flagship projects.
Wamalwa and Pukose said Khaemba must respect summons by the County Assembly Public Accounts Committee, which is recognised as an oversight body, like the Senate.
Speaking in the county, they urged Khaemba to "salvage his legacy" by ensuring completion of the hospital, the Kenyatta Stadium in Kitale and works on the main market in the town.
“He has to go there and explain all they want to know because the county is a public entity and Khaemba is accountable to residents," Wamalwa said.
“I would like to request that the invitation scheduled for June 4 be postponed to early July due to unavoidable circumstances," the letter from county secretary Sifuna Wakofula said.
He said they appreciate the gravity of the matter and commit to avail themselves on a date convenient to the PAC preferably early next month. The letter was dated June 3.
PAC chairman Peter Waswa told the Star on the phone, "He was to appear last Friday, but his office explained they needed time to prepare and suggested we schedule to early next month."
“The committee is the equivalent of a High Court as per the law and if they don’t appear then we will change tack and force him using legal instruments," Waswa said.
MCAs want Khaemba’s administration to also explain why there was no register for county assets valued at more than Sh8 billion.
Gathungu flagged financial anomalies and discrepancies amounting to more than Sh3 billion during the 2018-19 financial year.
The latest audit report cites many cases where spending by the county was irregular and lacked supporting documents as required by regulations on management of public funds.
The auditor said the statement of receipt and payments for the year ending June 30, 2019, reflected receipts totalling Sh6.7 billion against Sh7.8 billion reflected in the Financial Integrated Management System.
There was an unexplained variance of Sh106 billion.
In addition, the statement of receipts and payments reflects payments totalling Sh6.9 billion, however, Ifmis indicates payments totalling Sh4.8 billion.
This resulted in an unexplained variance of Sh2.1 billion.
The statements of assets and liabilities as at June 30, 2019, reflect total assets of Sh339.8 million. The Ifmis report shows assets totalling Sh23.4 billion, resulting in unexplained variance of Sh23.07 billion.
Similarly, Gathungu said the statements of assets and liabilities as at June 30, 2019, reflect total liabilities and a fund balance totalling Sh553.4 million. Ifmis, however, reported Sh20.07 billion. This indicated a variance of Sh19.5 billion.
The Auditor General said the two sets of records have not been reconciled.
“In view of the discrepancies, the completeness and accuracy of the financial statement of the year ending June 30, 2019, has not been confirmed,” Gathungu said.
The auditor said that as reported earlier by her office, the financial statements for Trans Noia reflected pending accounts payable totalling Sh897.8 million.
However, all relevant documents, including purchases and service orders, invoices and payment vouchers, among others, were not presented by the county for audit.
(Edited by V. Graham)