By Beauttah Omanga

Fresh details continue to emerge of how millions meant for Free Primary Education were misused.

The catalogue of sins that ministry officials are accused of includes funding private schools, submitting inflat-ed expenses, and making unauthorised grants and disbursements. More leaders are calling for the dismissal of Education Minister Sam Ongeri and Permanent Secretary Karega Mutahi.

Free learning under threat as donors warn they could withdraw support. Photo: File/Standard

On Sunday, reliable sources told The Standard that external auditors last week wrote a letter to the Director of Basic Education demanding explanations on how Sh19 billion, which is the total amount budgeted for the programme, was spent in the 2008-2009 financial year.

Documents in our possession detail how several senior Ministry of Education officials, all under the Basic Education department (where the FPE falls), received imprests amounting to millions of shillings, which they have not yet accounted for. However, the officials have not been suspended, as was the case with their colleagues in the secondary section.

While the 26 officials suspended by the PS are still serving their punishment, scores of others whose imprests have not been cleared are still going about their business as usual.

The memo questions how Sh302 million was spent under grants to disadvantaged groups. This includes Sh50m disbursed to 219 centres in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Thika, Eldoret and Kitale municipalities.

They were paid through voucher number 4705 of December 31, 2008 as grants to non-formal education centres.

"Of the schools funded, seven were privately registered schools according to records at the Ministry, Kenya National Examinations Council and the Director of City Education," reads the report in our possession. The brief, prepared by F N Kamau, an acting principal accountant at the ministry, indicates the private institutions were allocated grants amounting to Sh1.8 million, adding "these schools are not eligible for direct Government funding".

Auditors also query the unprocedural disbursement of infrastructure grants to schools totalling Sh360m.

"A payment of Sh359, 811,186 was made vide voucher number 4849 of December 31, 2008. The funds were disbursed to 596 schools on the basis of individual requests from schools, submitted through respective DEOs," notes the report. It adds that requests from schools were not provided for verification, so it was not possible for auditors to establish how the schools were identified.

Money control

There is little evidence there were any controls in the use of the money. Most schools were from districts where school management committees and the districts implementing teams had not been set up or trained to monitor the programme implementation.

To the auditors it was clear a school might not have an approved infrastructure development plan, which is one of the basic requirements to qualify for a grant.

A highlight of the auditors’ query is Sh10.9 million given to one official to cater for the payment of the allowances and purchase of "stationery". The stationery, which the official was to purchase, is not specified but the auditors indicate in the memo dated December their examinations revealed that the officer in question overpaid ministry officials using rates higher than they entitled rates.

A total of Sh69,500 was overpaid and they recommend that the amount be recovered from the official.

Also questioned is the unaccounted for Sh2.5m pertaining to two schools in Western province where Sh700, 000 given to Mukuyani Primary and Sh1.8m for Sikulu primary school as infrastructure grants.

"The funds had been withdrawn from the school accounts and there were no records on expenditure for the withdrawn cash nor were there evidence of works done with the funds," the reports states.

The auditors note that the inclusion of Sh9m as operational grants to secondary and primary schools does not qualify under the instructional materials as expenditure is not incurred for the purchase making it eligible under the project.

The report reveals how some payments were made well in advance to suppliers totalling Sh176,000 at Ndori Primary school in Gem District.

There was payment for undelivered materials of Sh17,550 at Orunga Primary in Kisumu and procurement of materials valued at Sh98,244 at Kibingei primary school in Kericho district without following procurement procedures. That section alone will see the project lose Sh291,794.

The report, Irregular Disbursement and Misuse of Funds, directed the Director Basic Education to explain the queries within four days from December 10.

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