Khaemba seeks more time to respond to audit queries

 

Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Khaemba has agreed to appear before area MCAs  for grilling over public funds use issues raised by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu.

Khaemba was to appear before the assembly Public Accounts Committee  last Friday but through the county secretary Sifuna Wakofula wrote a letter to the committee requesting to prepare and appear early next month.

“I would like to request that the invitation scheduled for June 4 be postponed to early July due to unavoidable circumstances,” said Khaemba in the letter.

He said he appreciates the gravity of the matter and commits to avail himself on a date convenient to the assembly PAC preferably early next month.  The letter is dated June 3.

PAC chairman Peter Waswa confirmed that the office of the governor had written to the assembly requesting for time to prepare written responses on the report by the auditor general before the meeting.

“He was to appear last Friday but his office explained that they needed time to prepare and suggested that we reschedule the same to early next month,” said Waswa who spoke to the Star on phone on Sunday.

Waswa said the county boss and his team were to be questioned on the audit report and the stalled construction of the Trans Nzoia Referral Hospital which was to cost more than Sh1.2 billion.

He said the assembly had mandate to oversight the county government and should Khaemba fail to appear before the committee voluntarily, then he would be forced to do so through laid down procedures.

The PAC chairman said they would also meet as a committee and respond to Khaemba’s request for a new date to appear.

“The committee is the equivalent of a High Court as per the law and if they don’t appear then we force him to come using necessary legal instruments,” said Waswa.

The MCAs want Khaemba’s administration to also explain why there was no register for assets of the county valued at more than Sh8 billion.

Gathungu flagged financial anomalies and discrepancies amounting to more than Sh3 billion during the 2018/2019 financial year.

The latest audit report cites many cases where financial expenditures by Trans Nzoia county government were done irregularly with no supporting documents and contrary to regulations on management of public funds.

Gathungu said the statement of receipt and payments for the year ended June 30, 2019, in the county reflected receipts totalling to Sh6.7 billion against Sh7.8 billion reflected in the Financial Integrated Management System on the said date, resulting to unexplained variance of Sh1.06 billion.

In addition, the statement of receipt and payments reflects payments totalling to Sh6.9 billion, whereas IFMIS report reflects payments totalling to Sh4.8 billion, resulting to unexplained variance of Sh 2.1 billion.

The statements of assets and liabilities as at June 30, 2019, reflect total financial assets valued at Sh339.8 million whereas IFMIS report shows assets totalling to Sh23.4 billion, resulting in unexplained variance of Sh23.07 billion.

Similarly, Gathungu said the statements of assets and liabilities as at June 30, 2019, reflects total liabilities and fund balance totalling to Sh553.4 million whereas the IFMIS report reflects Sh20.07 billion in respect to the account, resulting to a variance of Sh19.5 billion.

She says the two sets of records have not been reconciled.

“In view of the discrepancies, the completeness and accuracy of the financial statement of the year ending June 30, 2019, has not been confirmed,” said Gathungu.

The auditor noted that as reported earlier by her office, the financial statements for Trans Nzoia reflected pending accounts payable totalling to Sh897.8 million, but all relevant documents including purchases and service orders, invoices and payment vouchers among others were not presented by the county for audit.

On the pending bills, the auditor general noted that the analysis of pending bills as at June 30, 2019, indicated that bills totalling to Sh92.2 million had been pending for more than a year, including some dating back to 2011.

“In the circumstances it was not possible to confirm the validity and accuracy of pending bills totalling to Sh897.8 million reflected in the financial statements for the year under review,” said the auditor general in her report.

The auditor also queried cases of unsupported expenditures on construction of building, noting that procurement and other supporting documents for contracts costing Sh85 million were not presented for audit.

The county also incurred expenditures on goods and services costing Sh1.6 billion, but payments but almost all the county departments were not supported by necessary documentation.

“The validity of the expenditures could not be confirmed and the management failed to comply with regulations on procurement,” said the audit report.    BY  THE  STAR