Nancy Gathungu, the auditor general, called out the Nairobi County Government for failing to account for Ksh427 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2020, in a proper manner.
The Nairobi City County Alcoholic Drinks Control and Licensing Board used the money in question.
In a report, the Auditor General stated that she was unable to offer an opinion due to discrepancies discovered during the auditing process.
“I have audited the accompanying financial statements of the Board and the statements of receipts and payments, statement of cash flows, and the statement of comparison of budget and actual amounts for the year then ended.
“I do not express an opinion on the accompanying financial statements,” the report read in part.
Gathungu identified three discrepancies in the financial statement of the Board that prevented her from forming a conclusion.
According to the Auditor General, there was violation with the law regarding the submission of financial statements.
“The board had not submitted financial statements for the years 2015-2019 for audit.
“Further, the financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2020, were submitted to the Auditor General for audit on June 21, 2022, one year and eight months late in disregard of the law,” she pointed out.
While Anne Kananu was the previous governor for the 2019–2020 fiscal year, the paperwork were presented under Mike Sonko.
The presentation and disclosure of financial figures contained yet another contradiction.
The Financial Statements were not prepared in accordance with the Public Sector Accounting Standard Board’s specified format, according to the Auditor General (PSASB).
The Board’s inability to account for Ksh150 million of the total Ksh427 million was the final discrepancy.
“The statements of receipts and payments reflect total receipts of Ksh427 million and payments totaling Ksh277 million.
“However, supporting documents including receipt books, cash books, payment vouchers, ledgers, and supporting schedules were not provided for audit,” the Auditor General pointed out.
On February 8, the Nairobi City County Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) demanded an explanation from the Board for the missing Ksh150 million.
Hesbon Agwena, the acting director of the liquor board, explained the contradictions and said that management may have been at fault for not giving the Auditor General the complete report.
The board was ordered by the committee to start providing daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual revenue reports for audit scrutiny.
