Wajir Governor Abdi Mohammed has blamed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission for the damning audit report on the county finances.
Appearing before the Senate Public Accounts and Investments Committee, the governor tore into anti-graft agency accusing it of carting away crucial documents.
Mohammed said the documents were necessary for the preparation of financial statements.
“EACC officers came to raid Wajir. They took all the documents and they did not leave us with any copies. That is the truth of the matter. I think they are police officers,” he said.
The governor appeared before the oversight committee chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang to respond to 2017-18 audit queries raised by Auditor General Edward Ouko.
Mohammed also laid the blame on the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) for the mess in the county financial books.
He explained there were technical hitches with the automated system at the time making it impossible to upload transactions.
“Also account receivable and cash module were not active hence the delay in the financial statements,” he said.
In the report, the auditor reprimanded the county treasury for late submission and several inaccuracies in the financial system.
The audit revealed the county submitted statements and the supporting documents two months late, contrary to the Public Finance Management System, 2012.
“Further, the executive operated Emergency Fund, Revolving Fund, and Bursary Fund account for which it did not prepare and submit separate financial statements for the Funds as required by Section 167 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012” the report reads.
The governor’s response that the EACC’s raid occasioned the late submission rattled the committee.
The chairman demanded answers from the commission's liaison officer attached to the committee on why the sleuths carted away all the documents.
The officer said the copies of the carted documents were with the county officers, but the governor insisted that no copies were left.
“When EACC raids counties, copies must be left because the counties will not stop operating because of raids. In fact, late submission of financial statements is an offense,” the officer said.
The audit further exposed inaccuracies in the county’s submitted financial statements.
A scrutiny of the financial ledgers shows schedules provided to support payments of Sh6.49 billion were duplicated implying double payments.
“An audit scrutiny of the ledgers revealed that similar payments amounting to Sh1,840, 636, 876 reflecting the same vouchers, the same payees and the same amounts were used to support the financial balances,” Ouko said in the report.
The governor defended his administrations saying that the duplications were not double payments, but erroneous entries into the financial management system.
The response did not satisfy the committee members who demanded county officers account for the Sh1.8 billion.
“We are with the auditor on this. Even supporting documents were the same, then it only means that there was a duplication. Therefore, Sh1.8 billion must be accounted for,” Kajwang said.
Edited by E. Mbugua
