Counties fail to provide key financial documents – Senate

Failure to provide financial documents, poor record keeping and unqualified personnel are key issues hindering counties' financial accountability, a parliamentary report shows.

The report by the Senate County Public Accounts and Investments Committee also reveals huge pending bills, lack of or incomplete asset registers and stalled projects.

Also affecting financial operations in the counties are late exchequer releases by the National Treasury, underperforming own source revenues and over expenditure on staff emolument at the expense of development.

The reports follows the committee’s scrutiny of the Auditor General's reports for 2018-19 for the county governments.

The 30 reports were tabled in the Senate by CPAIC vice chairman Hargura Godana (Marsabit) last Thursday.

The panel chaired by Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko faulted the counties for failing to provide crucial financial documents to support expenditures.

The nine-member panel questioned all the 47 governors and the leadership of all the county assemblies over the queries before retreating to file the reports.

The reports are for Embu, Homa Bay, Kilifi, Kericho, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Kwale, Machakos, Mombasa, Nandi, Baringo, Bomet, Garissa, Kajiado and West Pokot counties.

Other are Isiolo, Kakamega, Kisumu, Laikipia, Mandera, Marsabit, Nakuru, Narok, Nyandarua, Samburu, Taita Taveta, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Vihiga and Wajir.

The Public Audit Act requires counties to provide documents to the Auditor General to facilitate auditing.

However, the Senate panel found at least 20 counties have ignored the provision, despite the law giving them three months after the closure of a financial year to prepare financial statements.

In Embu county, the committee found that officials in Governor Martin Wambora’s administration failed to provide financial documents to auditors to aid the process.

The documents related to several expenditures flagged by the auditor as unsupported.

“The committee recommends the CEO should ensure administrative action is taken against officers who failed to provide the documents to the Auditor General within 60 days from the adoption of this report,” the report read.

In Mombasa, Governor Hassan Joho’s administration failed to provide documents to the auditor on time to support the expenditure of Sh59.10 million for acquisition of assets and Sh2.81 billion pending bills.

“The committee observed that the County Executive failed to submit documents on time to the Auditor General,” it reads.

The report adds, “The Committee recommends that the management should adhere to Section 31 (4) of the Public Audit Act, 2015 after receiving the draft management letter.”

The committee found poor record keeping in the procurement and accounting departments in Mombasa.

It recommended that the county’s registry, procurement, finance and accounting departments be staffed with qualified personnel belonging to  professional bodies.

“The CECM–Finance and the Accounting Officer (Chief Officer-Finance) should ensure adherence to paragraph 90 of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations," it said.

In Machakos, the committee faulted  county officials for failing to clear pending bills of Sh1.19 billion that had accumulated since 2013.

“The CECM for Finance should develop a comprehensive plan for settling the long outstanding pending bills and provide status report to the Auditor General within 60 days from the adoption of this report,” it states.

In Homa Bay, the county government accumulated pending bills amounting Sh314.86 million as at June 30, 2019.

The debt accumulated over years.

The committee noted that there was poor record keeping in the accounting department.

“The registry and accounting departments should be staffed with qualified personnel who are members of the professional bodies,” the report reads.

(Edited by V. Graham)