• Governor Rasanga on the hot seat, hard pressed to explain spending.
• Says he ordered special audit and found his administration only owes suppliers and contractors Sh52 million.
Image: FAITH MUTEGE
The confusion over the county pending bills persisted on Tuesday yesterday after Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga disowned Sh700 million debt.
The governor told the Senate’s County Public Accounts and Investments Committee that he was stunned by the figures flagged by Auditor General Edward Ouko and CoB Agnes Odhiambo.
He said his administration only owed contractors and suppliers Sh52 million.
“I am actually shocked by these figures. I ordered an internal audit after I saw some abnormal figures from the auditor. After the audit, only Sh52 million was found to be legitimate," he told the committee chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang.
Rasanga appeared to answer queries raised by the audit on the county's financial operations in 2017-18 .
Rasanga’s disclosure adds to the about the county's pending bills. The offices of Auditor General and CoB have been releasing conflicting figures of the pending bills.
In her 2017-18 report on budget execution, Odhiambo disclosed that Siaya pending bills stood at Sh614 million as of June 30, 2018.
Were these ghost workers? Or who were they and why were they paid off the payroll? This is a fundamental matter that must be explained.Senator MosesKajwang
But according to the auditor's 2017-18 report, the county's pending bills had accumulated to Sh759.7 million.
In a special audit released early this month, Ouko revealed that the county owed suppliers Sh572.4 million.
The governor implored the panel to order another special audit on pending bills, adding that his administration could not clear debts that could not be verified.
On Monday, Ouko and Odhiambo could not agree on a figure the counties owe suppliers and instead blamed counties for declaring conflicting figures.
The governor was taken to task over Sh351 million that his administration paid to county workers outside the payroll.
The audit revealed that the county finance officers could not explain why the money was paid, contrary to the laid down procedure.
“Were these ghost workers? Or who were they and why were they paid off the payroll? This is a fundamental matter that must be explained,” Kajwang said.
Rasanga said that the money was paid to casual workers hired to collect garbage in the county's 30 wards.
This [branding] contract is nothing but pure conmanship designed to siphon public resourcesSenator Moses Kajwang
“The law allows us to only engage casual workers for three months. After that, there is a turnover,” he told the committee.
The governor was also hard pressed to explain why his government paid a firm Sh8 million for rebranding the county despite the company not rendering any service.
“We have no documents nor terms of reference to lay before this committee because this company did not do any work,” Rasanga told the committee.
However, the committee rejected the explanations, some terming the branding contract fictitious.
“This contract is nothing but pure conmanship designed to siphon public resources,” Kajwang said.
(Edited by V.Graham)