A Senate committee has summoned all the 47 governors as it started investigations into alleged misappropriation of Sh7.7 billion meant to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
A report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu on the utilisation of the funds revealed massive violations of procurement laws among other vices in the use of the funds.
The Health committee plans to quiz two governors per day starting Wednesday next week until mid-May.
“The hearings will be held to seek clarification from the counties on the findings of the report, and establishing the level of pandemic preparedness and response across the counties,” chairman Michael Mbito said in a report to the House.
Mbito disclosed that the team is probing how the counties spent the money, the bulk of its donations from the national government and other donors, as they battled the contagion.
The county governments received the Covid-19 related funding amounting to Sh7.7 billion comprising the conditional grants Sh5 billion, allowances for the frontline health workers at Sh2.6 billion and grants from DANIDA of Sh350 million.
In addition, counties also allocated their own source budgets and some of them received funding from other donors such as through the Kenya Devolution Support Project financed by the World Bank.
The audit report revealed that most counties failed to adhere to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, in the procurement of the Covid-19 items.
This is despite an earlier warning by EACC boss Twalib Mbarak that money being allocated to fight the coronavirus pandemic should not be used for selfish gain.
In addition, they failed to conduct market surveys, did not have approved procurement and training plans in most counties and systems and procedures to guide emergency procurements and the procurement of Covid-19 items from non-prequalified bidders without justification contrary to section 106(2) of the PPADA, 2015 were absent.
Further, most counties had inefficient inventory management systems that led to the co-mingling of donated and procurement stock items thus rendering it impossible to make a distinction between procured and donated goods.
“The 13 most notorious counties in this regard included Bomet, Bungoma, Elgeyo Marakwet, Homa Bay, Kilifi, Kirinyaga, Kitui, Laikipia, Migori, Nandi, Samburu, Wajir and West Pokot,” the report reads in part.
In addition, the Special Audit found that contrary to the provisions of section 74(4) of the Public Finance Management (County Government) Regulations, 2015, most counties failed to value the donations received from Kemsa and other donors in their budgets.
It further revealed that 16 counties failed to provide non-financial reports for the utilization of COVID-19 funds.
They are Busia, Embu, Garissa, Kakamega, Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, Mandera, Mombasa, Nairobi, Nyamira, Nyeri, Samburu, Turkana, Vihiga and Wajir.
About eight counties reported discrepancies between dispatch records at KEMSA and receipt records.
They include Bomet, Elgeyo Marakwet, Embu, Kakamega, Kericho, Nandi, Narok and Nyeri.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
