Parliament remiss in scrutinising accounts

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The last audited accounts approved by Parliament was in 2009/2010. Since 2010, the audited accounts of National Government have never been debated, approved or any action taken on them.  Parliament has, in the same period, continued to approve more collection of taxes.  Year in, year out, it has agreed to the increase of the national debt.  It has given its nod to higher and loftier spending by Government departments.  For the last four years and counting, Parliament has not approved any audited accounts or rejected such accounts and demanded accountability for any leakages of public funds.

County Governments are entitled to be allocated 15 per cent  of the national revenue.  This amount is calculated on the basis of the most recent audited and approved accounts of revenues received.  The 15 per cent allocation for county governments for the coming financial year (2014/2015) is based on the audited and approved accounts of 2009/2010. 

By failing to deal with the audited accounts as they are presented, Parliament is undermining fiscal devolution.  County governments are receiving funding based on national revenues collected five years ago; the revenue figures in the 2009/2010 financial accounts are not reflective of current national revenues.  These figures have also been affected by inflation— Sh227 billion in 2014/2015 will procure less services and goods than it did in 2009/2010.

The budget for the 2013/2014 financial year was Sh1.6 trillion.  The Government allocated Sh97.9 billion for road expansion; Sh22 billion for the standard gauge railway; Sh67 billion for National Police Services; and Sh17.4 billion for laptops for class one pupils.  In a few weeks Parliament will approve another budget of 1 trillion or more for these and other projects. 

Kenyans are entitled to know how the first Sh17.4 billion allocation for Class One laptops was spent; on whom; and how much was unspent.  They also have a right to know from which allocation the Anglo Leasing payment of 1.4 billion was paid. Unfortunately, we may have to wait as Parliament attends to more pressing business.   If we are lucky, by 2017, the eve of the next General Election, the audited accounts of 2013/2014 would have been debated and approved by Parliament.

Goldenberg was the financial scandal of the Kanu administration.  Anglo Leasing that of retired President Kibaki’s administration.  What will be the financial scandal of the current administration?  We might not yet see or hear of it; but it is coming. Because of the failure of Parliament to approve or reject audited national government accounts when they are presented, by the time we learn of the scandal and name it, the funds will be long gone. That is the good news.

Financial scandals are not financed from government coffers.   Financial scandals are paid for by tax payers.  They will never stop until Kenyans put their foot down.  By demanding that Parliament exercises its constitutional responsibility of scrutinising and approving the accounts audited by the auditor general from previous financial years. By demanding that Parliament should do so before debating and approving this year’s budget and allocations.  That is the bad news. The buck stops with you.

Article 229 of the Constitution places an obligation on the Auditor General to audit and report on the accounts of National Government within six months after the end of the financial year and submit them to Parliament.

Article 229 places an obligation on Parliament to debate and consider the reports of the Auditor General within three months and take the appropriate action. By approving the allocation of funds to county governments based on audited and approved revenue accounts of 2009/2010 and not those of 2012/2013 Parliament has violated the Constitution and let Kenyans down.

The writer is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya