Senators have clashed with governors over financial accountability after the county chiefs skipped sessions to account for funds use.
The Senate County Public Accounts Committee that oversights the counties on Monday fired a warning shot to governors who have given its invites a wide berth.
“In our laws and standing orders, financial accountability never goes away,” CPAIC chairman Ochilo Ayacko said.
In two weeks, at least six governors have skipped the committee’s invites and summonses to respond to the damning financial audit reports for 2019-20 financial year.
Among the county chiefs who have skipped the sessions are Hillary Barchok (Bomet), Granton Samboja (Taita Taveta), Hassan Joho (Mombasa), Ali Roba (Mandera), James Nyoro (Kiambu) and Anne Kananu (Nairobi).
“As an executive or assembly may for one reason or the other not appear today but you will have to account for the utilisation of public resources and your mandate at a future time,” Ayacko, who is the Migori senator, said.
CPAIC is a watchdog committee seen as the engine of the Senate as the bulk of the House's accountability work is seen through the panel.
The nine-member committee oversights financial operations in the counties through scrutiny of the financial audit reports and grilling governors and their financial bosses to account for the usage of the funds.
In its previous report adopted by the Senate, the committee indicted several governors and their finance officers for loss of public funds.
In 2019, it recommended investigation, prosecution and surcharge of more than 10 current and former governors for their role in the loss of public funds.
The chairman said not a single audit report will be swept under the rag until those who are responsible for the usage of the funds account for them.
“This committee and the auditor general keeps records for the appearances here. The ones that have not been dealt with will be dealt with somewhat.”
“As a committee of the senate, we are in the tail end of our tenure. We are constrained for time. We need to do our final reports and table them,” he said.
Yesterday, governor Nyoro, who had been scheduled to appear before the panel, failed to show up.
Instead, he sent a letter indicating he was chairing a subcommittee of the Council of Governors in Mombasa.
“This morning, we ought to have heard Kiambu. They have written saying the reasons why they have not appeared.”
“That matter has not gone away and Kiambu county executive will appear before the Senate,” he said.
In the letter signed by Kiambu finance executive Wilson Kang’ethe, the governor has been invited to a meeting in Mombasa in his capacity as the chairman of the technical committee on Agriculture.
“We wish to request for postponement of the meeting to another date…. We therefore kindly request to be granted 14 days,” the letter reads in part.
For the second time last week, Joho, skipped the committee’s invite. This was despite the committee traveling to Mombasa three weeks ago to grill him in his county.
Last week, Nairobi’s Kananu, who was scheduled to appear after she skipped two other session, failed to show up.
Instead, she sent a letter indicating that she was sick.
The same week, Governor Samboja gave the meeting a wide berth, also indicating that he was sick.
It is not clear if Bomet’s Barchok has sent any letter to the panel to explain his no-show, but twice, he has failed to appear before the nine-member dreaded panel.
-Edited by SKanyara
