Baringo County paid over Sh272 million to ghost workers, audit reveals

An audit report indicates that Baringo County may have paid over Sh272 million to ghost workers.

The report by Auditor General Edward Ouko indicates that the county paid individuals not captured in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD) system in 2014-2015 financial year.

Mr Ouko noted that Sh272,825,309 could have been made to nonexistent workers or was a result of double payment.

In the breakdown of the payment of salaries not in the payroll system, nursery school teachers were paid Sh150.8 million, economic stimulus programmes received Sh17.2 million, employees on contract were paid Sh23.6 million while newly employed health workers received Sh13.7 million.

A local contract was paid Sh6.8 million.

“This creates challenges such as ghost workers or double payment,” reads the Auditor General’s report.

The auditor also questions Sh56m bursary put into an Equity bank account account number 1390262458895 with no records showing how the funds were disbursed to individual and beneficiary institutions.

Ouko also questioned the county finance statement covering the 2014/15 financial year, noting questionable pending bills amounting to Sh174 million which the county could not support with any documentation.

He also questioned how the county could report pending bills when it closed the year without spending over Sh800 million meant for development.

ABANDONED PROJECTS

In terms of budgetary performance, the auditor flagged industrialization and trade, tourism, agriculture, lands, education, water as well as gender and sports ministries for wastage of public funds in projects that are either abandoned or unutilised.

The auditor raised the red-flag over Sh10.7 million boundary wall built by the county government at Kabarnet stadium on private land.

The auditor flagged the ministry of industrialization, which over-shot its budget by 111 per cent without regularizing by way of a supplementary budget, for either non-completion or completion of fresh produce markets worth over Sh80m which have been abandoned.

The projects include in Kaptelewa (Sh10.9m), Tenges (Sh11.7m), Bartabwa (Sh10.4m) and Kabarnet (Sh11.4m), Mumberes (Sh11.8m), Industrial Kabarnet (Sh6m), Koloa (Sh12.4m) and Emining (Sh11m)

“In the above, projects, by the time of audit, some of them had not started while some had been completed and abandoned casting doubts that value for money may not be obtained,” says the auditor.

The auditor also singled out variation of projects without procurement records. The auditor also pointed out over-payments in the ministry of agriculture for Barwesa and Loruk slaughterhouse projects.

Whereas the contractors, Besko investment had indicated that the roof of Barwesa slaughterhouse would use 28 gauge pre-painted galvanised iron sheets at a price of Sh1,600 each, they instead used iron sheets worth Sh700 each.

SHODDY WORK

In the case of Loruk slaughterhouse, Skatkat International was awarded the contract in which it was to use gauge 28 of pre-painted galvanised alunzic metal sheets covering all roofing at Sh1,600 per square metre.

“However site visit revealed that the contractor used gauge 30 with lower price of Sh700 and of lower quality,” reads the auditor report.

Other contractors cited by the auditors report for shoddy work include Lowlands Enterprise which was awarded Eldama Ravine town road for routine maintenance for Sh3.2 million but abandoned the works.

Kaboi contractors were awarded the same road for Sh4.4 million but hardly had it completed the works when potholes developed. The report also cites Kipnyekwei building contractors who were awarded a Sh2.9 million contract to build a dormitory block for the deaf and blind which the auditor said was poorly done.