Nairobi and Kisumu were among the six worst counties for managing and disclosing the use of public monies, according to a study by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
In the study, the counties received unfavorable opinions, which means that “the financial statements demonstrate material misrepresentation with respect to the underlying accounting records.”
The two counties have already gotten unfavorable audit views three times as a result of their inadequate reporting on the administration of public monies.
ther counties flagged in the report by Gathungu include Murang’a, Baringo, Narok, and Vihiga.
According to the Auditor-General, the six counties were unable to account for how they spent up to Ksh25 billion for the 2020/21 financial year.
Nairobi was ranked the worst with the county being unable to account for the usage of over Ksh20.9 billion.
This accounted for over 81 per cent of the public funds whose usage has been questioned.
According to the Auditor-General, while the county’s statement of receipts and payments reflects total payments amounting to Ksh29.6 billion supporting documents for the expenditure amounting to Ksh9.8 billion were not provided for audit.
In her report, Gathungu stated that “under the circumstances, the precision and regularity of expenditure amounting to Sh9,773,095,233 could not be guaranteed.”
Additionally, problems with the Holo-Huma access road project, which cost the Kisumu County government more than KSh 5 million, were discovered by the Auditor-General.
Gathuku pointed out that during a physical audit in November 2021, auditors discovered difficulties with poor drainage workmanship, which closed off a portion of the road.
On the other hand, the Baringo County government came under fire for spending Ksh11.5 million in August 2021 to purchase seeds for distribution to residents despite an earlier warning from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), which had predicted that the months of July, August, September, October, and November would be marked by a protracted dry spell without any rainfall.
The Auditor-General stated that “it is, therefore, unclear what guided the decision of the Management.”
Gathuku questioned how the county in Murang’a spent almost Ksh1.4 billion, while the Marsabit governor’s spending of about Ksh60 million came under scrutiny.
In 2020–21, only Kisii County received an unqualified audit opinion; no other county received a disclaimer of opinion.
This occurs only a day after the Senate Committee on Devolution expressed alarm over the sizable County unpaid arrears, which they claimed were impeding the delivery of services.
