Auditor: Nakuru MCAs irregularly received allowances, spent millions on trips

A report by the Auditor General has revealed that members of county assembly (MCAs) irregularly received night-out allowances to attend meetings held in Nakuru town in the financial year 2013-2014.

Furthermore, while the MCAs made 11 foreign trips, no report or recommendations were presented to the Auditor General showing how the assembly benefited from the lavish tours.

The assembly has been put on the spot by Auditor General Edward Ouko for flouting regulations on use of public funds. Mr Ouko has recommended the recovery of any irregularly paid allowances to MCAs and assembly staff.

The report revealed that the MCAs irregularly received Sh8,648,740 as night-out allowances to attend conferences held in hotels within Nakuru town and 'Kamukunji' meetings.

The report shows the MCAs were paid Sh844,000 to attend a Kamukunji meeting on January 31, 2014 and Sh657,000 after working for 'long hours' on May 2 and 9 2014.

On September 9, 2013, the MCAs were paid Sh1,428,000 after attending a training at WaterBuck Hotel, which is situated a few metres from the county assembly.

The MCAs also received Sh1,120,000 as night-out allowances on December 11, 2013 during a team building exercise among other payments flagged by the Auditor General.

The report flagged the payments as irregular as the meetings were not held outside work station and recommended the assembly to recover the irregular payments from MCAs.

The MCAs also spent Sh40,406,391 on foreign trips. They went to New York, California, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Newcastle, New Jersey and Washington DC - all in the US - Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi during the 2013-14 financial year.

The report shows that the assembly incurred Sh11,789,507 on a trip to Chicago, Sh7,080,000 to New York, Sh6,449,975 to California and another Sh6,490,538 to the East African Legislative Assemblies Sports and Cultural Association in Burundi.

"The assembly organised a trip to New York for the New York Counties Conference in February, 2014. The assembly spent Sh7,080,400 for the trip, which had a delegation of 13 people. It is not clear what benefits the trip had since no reports have been presented for audit review," said the report.

California trip

On the trip to California for a two-day conference, Ouko raised questions over Sh1,511,190 paid between May 16 to 21, 2014 to the 11-member delegation yet the invitation letter indicated the conference took place on May 14 and 15.

In a related case, 21 MCAs on a foreign trip to attend a games' festival in Burundi irregularly received Sh105,270 each after they were paid for 11 nights instead of six.

The Auditor General recommended formulation of clear guidelines on foreign trips to avoid loss of public funds and counties to seek clearance from the ministries of Devolution and Foreign Affairs before embarking on such trips.

"Any overpaid amount should be recovered from officers and MCAs. The assembly should ensure all expenditure on foreign travel is properly accounted for," the report says.

Another expenditure on domestic travel and accommodation amounting to Sh39,063,580 - according to the auditor - was not properly supported by relevant documentation hence the expenditure could not be confirmed.

The report, which has since been tabled in the assembly, revealed that each of the 71 MCAs received a Sh2 million car grant though it was not budgeted for in the 2013-14 financial year.

The auditor noted that the loan repayment was pegged on allowances instead of MCAs' salaries due to lack of clear guidelines.

The assembly incurred Sh39,808,859 on conference and capacity building workshops, an expenditure the audit said could not be confirmed due to lack of lists of attendance.