- Auditor general will discuss the counties’ financial reporting and accountability.
- Often, the auditor has exposed damning reports exposing massive misuse of public funds in several counties.
Image: FILE
Governors and their deputies are on Wednesday starting a three-day training on finance, procurement and human resource amid massive graft and bloated workforce in the counties.
Most of the new county chiefs have put their predecessors on the spot over alleged mismanagement of county funds.
They have exposed what they have termed immense graft, wastage of public funds and issue of ghost workers.
At the event, which will be held at the Great Rift Valley Lodge in Naivasha, the governors will be taken through public finance, procurement laws and human resource management.
The training will run from Wednesday and end on Friday.
“The objective will be to deepen the understanding of governors and deputy governors on the Public Finance and Asset Disposal act (PPADA 2015) and its attendant regulations and discuss the role of governors in procurement,” the programme states.
Often, governors and other county officers have been accused of mutilating finance and procurement laws to embezzle or misuse public money at the expense of the taxpayers.
Treasury PS Julius Muia, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, and Commission on Revenue Allocation chairperson Jane Kiringai are among those scheduled to speak at the event.
Also in the list of speakers are Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee's Kithinji Kiragu and Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairperson Lyn Mengich.
According to the programme, Muia will take the governors through the process of disbursement of equitable share, allocation of additional allocation to the counties and how they can benefit from public-private partnerships.
The governors will likely put Muia on the spot over the delayed release of cash to the counties by the Treasury.
Last week, the governors revealed that at least 51.76 billion is yet to be disbursed to the counties in the last two months.
“It is unfortunate that the third generation of counties has started on a bleak note due to lack of resources," Council of Governors chairperson Anne Waiguru said last Thursday.
We wish to inform Kenyans that the constitution and PFM Act requires the Treasury to disburse the funds on the 15th of every month without delay,” she said.
Gathungu will discuss the counties’ financial reporting and accountability.
Often, the auditor has released damning reports exposing massive misuse of public funds in several counties.
Kiringai will explain to the governors the current formula of sharing revenue among counties, emphasise on the need to improve county own source revenue collection and unbundle and cost county functions.
Mengich will speak on the ballooning wage bill in the counties and discuss its management.
National Treasury’s public procurement director Eric Korir will discuss the role of governors in procurement, roles of oversight agencies and pending bills in procurement law.
Public Procurement Regulatory Authority director general Patrick Wanjuki will discuss the compliance, investigation, offences and sanctions under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.
“The training will equip county leaders with extensive knowledge on the legal and institutional framework surrounding budgeting, financing, reporting and auditing,” the document states.
Governors James Orengo (Siaya), Simba Arati (Kisii), Johnson Sakaja (Nairobi) and Abdi Guyo (Isiolo) are some of those that have exposed the rot in their counties.
They have unearthed massive mess in health departments, human resources and finance.
(edited by Amol Awuor)