Nairobi's acting Finance executive has shed light on a questioned payment of Sh297.5 million by detailing the circumstances behind it.
Charles Kerich, who is the Lands executive, said on Wednesday that
accountants erroneously picked the health donor fund account instead of the bursary account.
The amount was sent
to a bank account in Maryland, Australia, baffling MCAs when the sitting resumed Tuesday.
Kerich explained that on April 24 and 28, the county Treasury opened two accounts - the
Nairobi City County Bursary Fund Account - number 01141232396612 - and the Nairobi City County /University of Maryland Health Services Account - number 01141232396611.
Both were at Co-operative Bank of Kenya's City Hall Branch.
“Given that both accounts were opened more or less at the same time, and because only the payee appears on the work bench screen when processing payments via IFMIS, the wrong account was picked," he told reporters at City Hall.
Kerich said the Maryland account is for donor –funded projects managed by the Health department and the University of Maryland.
He pointed out that the funds were transferred from the city's revenue account at Central Bank of Kenya on May 21 but that it was not until May 28 that the bank notified them of its inability to print bursary cheques.
“We took immediate remedial action on May 29 and asked the bank to transfer the money to the bursary account, an
instruction that was effected on the same day.
Kerich pointed out that government accounts do not earn interest and asked MCAs to be patient as the bank prints the bursary cheques.
His explanation came amid fury over delays in the issuance of the cheques.
In the plan, each of the 85 wards was to get Sh3.5 million.