- There were no supporting documents to authenticate many expenditures.
- In Kericho, the funds are part of the Sh37.81 million for emergencies during the year under review. Turkana and Uasin Gishu also cited, among others.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Some county governments are diverting funds meant for emergencies, leaving them vulnerable and exposed in case of a crisis, new audit reports show.
The 2019-200 financial audit reports on the county emergency funds by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu shows counties are spending the emergency funds on capital projects and salaries.
Analysis of the audit reports reveals a trend of counties exhausting their emergency cash on ineligible projects that do not meet criteria for emergencies.
In addition, some counties cannot account for the funds, including those reportedly spent on emergencies.
In Kericho, the county government drew Sh8.07 million from the emergency fund account to carry out projects that do not qualify as emergencies.
They include the construction of exhaustible toilets at Sondu for Sh993, 741 and intensive street cleaning and distilling of drainage in Kericho town for Sh3.33 million.
Construction of the Chelele Kapkwen gravity water for Sh2.51 million was also done using emergency cash.
“This is against section 7(1) of the Kericho County Emergency Fund Act, 2014 which provides that emergency funds shall be used for urgent and unforeseen needs,” the report read.
“In addition, no report to the county assembly on the emergency funds projects had been done as required by the Act,” it read.
In the report spotlighting Governor Paul Chepkwony’s government, the auditor cited unaccounted for expenditures amounting to Sh5.13 million drawn from the emergency fund.
There were no supporting documents to authenticate the expenditures.
The funds are part of the Sh37.81 million provided for emergencies during the year under review.
“Under the circumstances, the accuracy and validity of general expenses of Sh37.82 million for the year ended June 30, 2019, could not be confirmed,” the report read.
In Turkana, the county executive spent Sh88.93 million emergency funds without required approval by the county assembly.
“There was no evidence the CEC Finance and Planning was involved in the process of appropriation for the bill to be introduced in the county assembly and replenishment of the same,” the report read.
The county, the report adds, lacks a legal framework for the administration of the Emergency as Fund as stipulated in Section 6(3) of Turkana County Emergency Fund Act, 2016.
The Act stipulates that the Finance executive shall administer the Fund in accordance with the framework and criteria approved by the county assembly.
The situation is similar in Uasin Gishu where executives spent Sh19.35 million on non-emergencies.
There was proof the county assembly approved the allocation of the funds, raising concerns the cash could have been misapplied.
Further, the auditor questioned the use of Sh595,259 reportedly transferred to the Fund account from the county government; it could not be traced.
“Consequently, the accuracy and completeness of the transfers from the county executive balance of Sh595, 259 for the year ended June 30, 2019, could not be traced,” the report read.
Some counties got a clean bill of health in the management of the emergency funds. They include Kirinyaga, Lamu, Taita Taveta and Mombasa.
(Edited by V. Graham)