Awiti scratching his head over missing Sh800 million

Governor Cyprian Awiti of Homa Bay County (PHOTO: FILE)

NAIROBI, KENYA: Hours after the election of Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti Jamawego was nullified, the office of the Auditor General delivered another blow.

According to the 2015-2016 report from Auditor General Edward Ouko’s office, Homa Bay County Assembly is unable to account for more than Sh825,807,457 spent during the 2015-2016 financial year.

The accuracy and completeness of the salaries of Sh388,406,557 could not be ascertained. The master payroll indicated an expenditure of Sh388,406,557, while the payroll provided for audit review supports Sh259,623,554.

The is an unexplained difference of Sh128,783,003, which was probably paid to ghost workers.

 In the period under review, the Auditor General says, the county paid out Sh123 million to a contractor and a consultant for the construction of Kadongo-Gendia road, even before the two were declared non-performing and the contract terminated.

Again, the county paid Sh5.7 million for the maintenance of two roads for work that was never done, said the Auditor General. Ouko also questioned a Sh4.9 million payment for VIP toilets and changing rooms at the Homa Bay Stadium whose construction hadn’t even started, six months after its supposed completion date.  Ouko questioned a Sh342.8 million that was unaccounted for in the purchase of goods and services. The audit report states that the county had omitted Sh26.4 million imprests in its documents when the audit was done. According to the report, money was used for fencing the county commissioner’s compound.

Surprisingly, education was allocated Sh115,223,536 for development but only Sh46,843,600 was paid out, leading to under expenditure.

“The travelling and accommodation claims of Sh1,389,000 did not reflect the correct position since the claimants indicated that they were in Mombasa from 18th to 24th March 2014, while at the same time they were attending a County Assembly forum in Homa Bay at ACK Guest House for staff interviews.

The Members of the County Assembly could not have been in two places at the same time,” reads the report.