- CPAIC oversights the expenditures of billions of taxpayers’ money by the county executives and assemblies.
- It grills governors, speakers and their top finance officers on audit queries to account for the funds.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
The Senate leadership has seven days to form an oversight committee as senators decry inaction by investigative agencies amid concerns of rampant corruption in the counties.
Speaker Kenneth Lusaka has ordered the majority and minority leadership to second names to the County Public Accounts and Investments committee by next week, to commence inquiry into the damning financial audit reports of the county governments.
“In the Senate Business Committee, we gave them one week. They should be able to do so because we are running out of time. We should get it by next week,” Lusaka said.
CPAIC oversights the expenditures of billions of taxpayers’ money by the county executives and assemblies.
It grills governors, speakers and their top finance officers on audit queries to account for the funds.
The committee is sessional, meaning, its term expires at the end of every session (year) and a new one has to be constituted.
Lusaka spoke even as the lawmakers raised alarm over inaction on their recommendations to tame the runaway graft in the devolved units.
The lawmakers warned that many governors and their finance officers are walking scot-free and may not be held to account, especially those serving final terms, despite being implicated in massive financial malpractices by the Senate.
“For those of us who still go out to seek votes to come back to this House, the biggest question has been the action taken by the House on the reports of the Auditor General,” Homa Bay senator Moses Kajwang said.
“There is a lot of concern that some of these reports touch on governors whose terms are coming to an end. Therefore, there is concern that they will not be brought to account,” he added.
Kajwang chaired the committee in 2019. His committee made radical recommendations—including prosecution, investigation and surcharge —to the investigative agencies—EACC, DCI and DPP.
The committee had recommended prosecution of 23 current and former governors whom it found culpable of abetting financial malpractices in their administration.
It gave the agencies six months to report on the progress made on the implementation of the reports. However, none of the agencies has filed a report to the House.
In 2020, the committee then chaired by Kisii Senator Sam Ongeri, proposed prosecution of several finance officers and withholding of funds to Lamu county over what it termed rampant malpractices.
Vihiga Senator George Khaniri said the public demanded action from Parliament and investigative agencies on corrupt county officials but no action has been taken on misappropriation of funds in the counties.
“Even after the committee looks at the reports and makes recommendation to Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, we have not seen any action,” he said.
Khaniri recommended the reintroduction of Implementation committee to follow up and ensue the reports are fully implemented.
“Once we act on these reports by the Auditor General, there is lack of implementation. Some of the reports are on governors who are outgoing. They have finished their two terms.”
“Not only that, there are those who were in the last regime who did not make it for their second term, yet there were strong implicating reports on those governors,” Khaniri said.
-Edited by SKanyara