A rhino grazing at Maasai Mara Game Reserve. (Inset) Narok County Governor Patrick Ntutu.
Narok County could not account for Sh8 million it claimed to have used on ear-notching and fitting of transmitters on 20 black rhinos in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the latest audit report has revealed.
The administration of Governor Patrick Ntutu could also not account for fuel consumed during the exercise as there were no documents to support the expenditure.
Additionally, delivery notes, counter issue forms (S11) and counter receipt forms (S13) were not provided to confirm the expenditure of a further Sh901,000 on immobilisation drugs, reversal agents, darting accessories and medical consumables.
The county executive is also on the spot over the expenditure of Sh2,172,800 and Sh1,568,000 paid to the Department for Tourism and Kenya Wildlife Service personnel respectively, which were not supported with Memorandum of Understanding with the Department and Service.
Further, the hired company for the provision of helicopter services was not on the list of registered suppliers for the County Executive for the year under review.
“In the circumstances, the accuracy and completeness of the expenditure amount of Sh8,141,800 could not be confirmed,” reveals the report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu for the year ending June 30, 2024.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu during a past event.
In Kilifi, Sh44 million could have been lost in the procurement of relief food for refugees in the county. The report unearthed payments of Sh44,639,728 for emergency relief and refugee assistance made to four companies for supply and delivery of relief food items. There were, however, no records if the foot items reached the intended beneficiaries.
During the year under review, transfers totalling Sh250,000,000 were made to the emergency fund, with the county under Governor Gideon Mung’aro indicating that it used a central store to receive and dispatch food items procured.
However, weighbridge reports confirming the quantities received and issued were not provided. Further, details of delivery vehicles from the central stores to the distribution points were not provided.
Tana River County is on the spot over irregular payment of foreign travel and subsistence allowances amounting to Sh6 million.
Education Exchange Mission
The county incurred foreign travel and subsistence expenses of Sh26,503,679 out of which Sh6,395,500 was incurred on staff allowances while attending Jumuiya Trade Investment and Education Exchange Mission in the United States of America.
Invitation letters to participants, and back-to-office reports documenting the outcome of the mission, lessons learned, and the value gained from the conference were, however, not provided for audit review.
The county is also under scrutiny over a possible loss of Sh170,895,999 incurred on insurance costs. The amount includes staff medical insurance of Sh149,999,999 paid in advance without a utilisation monitoring mechanism being put in place.
Additionally, the motor vehicle insurance of Sh10,900,000 was not supported by motor vehicle registration numbers, valuation report, premium breakdown for each vehicle and policy documents.
Another Sh9,996,000 paid to the National Health Insurance Fund to provide Social Health Cover for the elderly and people living with disabilities was also in question as the administration under Governor Dhadho Godhana could not provide a list of beneficiaries, identity card numbers and amount paid for each.
The administration is also on the spot over irregular payments of legal expenses after spending Sh30,703,120 which was paid to four legal firms representing the County Executive in various cases.
The expenditure was, however, not supported by approvals of the County Executive Committee and recommendation of the County Attorney. This was in breach of Section 8(1)(d) of the County Attorney Act, 2020 which requires the Attorney to issue directions to any officer performing legal functions in any department within the County Executive.
The payments were also not supported with relevant documentation such as initial fee notes, amounts paid to date, outstanding balances, the cases being handled and status of those cases, evidence of court attendance and fees as per Advocates Remuneration Order, 2014.
“Review of the Integrated Payroll Personnel Database system indicated that the executive had a legal officer and legal advisor to deal with legal matters. However, it was not possible to ascertain their role including why they could not represent the Executive on legal issues,” states the report.
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru.
In Kirinyaga, Governor Anne Waiguru’s administration is on the spot for irregular payments of allowance to revenue collectors, causing a possible loss of Sh4 million.
The report indicates that allowances amounting to Sh4,301,100 was paid to revenue officers at various rates for breakfast, working during weekends, working in non-official working hours and taxi services payments. However, there was no approved policy to guide on the basis of rate of payment. The county could also not support training expenses.
“Included is an amount of Sh25,611,474 in respect of training expenses which further includes an amount of Sh3,778,000 which had anomalies…”
Some of the anomalies cited include having facilitation request memos being done after the interviews were conducted amounting to Sh661,000. The county was also not able to provide a list of participants, or evidence of work done occasioning loss of Sh1 million.
