Kingi taken to task over Sh2bn spending outside Ifmis

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi on Thursday came under fire over Sh2 billion allegedly paid outside government platform Ifmis.

Senators questioned the basis of the multibillion transaction. They said it violated the Public Finance Management that requires all public institutions to transact within the Integrated Finance Management and Information system.

Kingi was appearing before the Senate Public Accounts and Investment Committee over queries raised by Auditor General Edward Ouko in the 2017-18 expenditures.

Ouko flagged the variance, which was majorly used to pay salaries. About Sh1.14 billion was spent on emoluments, but about Sh12.6 million was unspecified.

Kimani Wamatangi (Kiambu), Charles Kibiru (Kirinyaga) and Mithika Linturi (Embu) demanded justification for the irregular transaction.

“Does it mean the county government of Kilifi paid employees outside Ifmis?” Kibiru said.

But Kingi denied spending a shilling outside the system, blaming the Treasury for the mixup, which, he said, was caused by systematic problems in the Ifmis.

“No shilling was used outside the system. When it came to reconciliation at the end of the financial year, the system was not running. So, as a county, we went for the actual calculation of expenses incurred,” he told the senators.

Wamatangi, who chaired the session, questioned why the county took long to reconcile the accounts even after the system was activated.

Kibiru said, “The books were closed on June 30. That was three months before the auditor started the work. It is hard to believe you could not do reconciliation in three months because the auditor was there in October.” 

The county chief said many counties have complained about similar problems.

“This is not a Kilifi county issue. I sit in the Legal Committee at the Council of Governors. This cry comes from other counties as well. We need to have the Treasury play its part and all these will be a thing of the past, ” Kingi said.

Ouko also questioned the validity of the Sh97 million the county spent on legal fees for a case dating 2015 that had not been disclosed as pending bills in previous years.

(Edited by F'Orieny)

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