An audit has revealed that Trans Nzoia County presented a list of pending bills amounting to Sh1.2 billion in its 2017/18 report but did not submit supporting documents for verification.
Former Auditor-General Edward Ouko further said that in its own generated revenue, the county spent Sh36 million that was collected from Kitale and Mt Elgon sub-county hospitals.
“The use of revenue at source is contrary to Regulation 63(4) of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015, which states that all public moneys collected by a receiver of revenue shall be paid into the designated bank accounts of the county government and shall not be used by any public officer in any manner between the time of their receipts and payment into the bank except as provided by law,” noted Mr Ouko.
The statement of assets and liabilities reflects accounts receivables an outstanding imprest balance of Sh60 million as of June 30, 2018.
However, the schedule availed for review reflected Sh34 million, leading to an unsupported balance of Sh26 million.
Besides, no reason was provided for failure to recover the outstanding imprests, which should have been accounted for on or before that date, contrary to Section 93(5) of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015. The regulations require that imprests be surrendered within seven working days of return to the work station.
SAMBURU
In Samburu, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) was paid Sh104 million after the county failed to file taxes on time, without justification, resulting in penalties.
Further, the county paid a gratuity of Sh70 million to several employees whose contracts lapsed during the year under review.
However, pay as you earn (PAYE) deductions in respect of gratuity amounting to Sh20 million was not remitted to the KRA.
The management did not explain why the statutory deductions were not remitted as required, thus exposing the county to penalties and fines.
Further, the unremitted tax due was not disclosed in the list of pending bills.
Samburu also paid Sh3.3 million for street lighting and electricity supplied to the county ministry of public health and sanitation but the expenditure was unsupported by electricity bills and statements from the company.
The audit has also revealed that Sh151 million was paid for medical and car insurance but that policy documents and valuation reports for motor vehicle insurance of Sh5.3 million were not provided for audit.
The county further paid Sh39 million to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) for supply of drugs and non-pharmaceuticals but there were no delivery notes and reports from inspection and acceptance committees
“In the absence of these records, it was not possible to establish whether the goods were supplied and accounted for,” Mr Ouko noted.
WEST POKOT
In the case of West Pokot County, the audit revealed that Sh95 million was to be paid annually for the lease in 2015 of medical equipment under the Management Equipment Services (MES) agreement..
The amount was to be deducted directly by the National Treasury from the county’s equitable revenue share.
As of June 30, 2018, a total of Sh287 million had been deducted for three financial years but physical verification of the machines at Kapenguria Referral Hospital in November 2018 confirmed that a renal machine was installed that year but never used.
Further, a digital X-ray unit- Brivo Digital Radiography Floor Mounted (DR-F) System was installed but it could not function due to lack of a power connection.
Similarly, Health Information Technology (HCLT) Equipment was delivered but not installed and the Computed Tomography (CT) Scan equipment was yet to be delivered.
The Auditor-General noted that Sh2 million was paid to the Council of Governors, under operational expenses but that this was not budgeted for and was contrary to Section 37 of the Inter-Governmental Relations Act, 2012.
There were also unsupported cash withdrawals amounting to Sh112 million from nine bank accounts for operations in July 2017 but supporting documents were unavailable.
TURKANA
While auditing Turkana County in the 2017/18 financial year, the Auditor-General noticed an expenditure of Sh92 million on the construction of buildings, which had stalled.
A delay in project implementation is contrary to Section 151(2) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.
The law states that to manage complex and specialised procurement contracts, the contract implementation team shall be responsible for monitoring the performance of the contractor.
The goal is to ensure that all delivery or performance obligations are met or are appropriate and that the contractor acts under the provisions of the contract.
Mr Ouko also reported that Turkana awarded a company construction a roads tender and paid Sh52,382,012 on construction of roads.
However, no documentary evidence was availed to confirm that the contracted firms were registered by the National Construction Authority, contrary to Section 15(1) of the National Construction Authority Act, 2011.
The law stipulates that a person shall not carry on with business of a contractor unless registered by the authority’s board.
The audit further revealed that the county paid Sh155 million for pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical supplies but that inspection and acceptance reports were prepared before receipt and inspection of the goods.
In addition, requisitions from the health facilities concerned were also not submitted for audit.