Public Accounts Committee completes review of audit reports

Kenya; The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has said funds allocated to the county is set to increase by more than 24 per cent once review of the audit reports is complete.

The committee says the amount is expected to increase from Sh240 billion disbursed this financial year to Sh300 billion in the next financial year based on the 2012/2013 report, whose review was completed yesterday.

Yesterday committee chairman Ababu Namwamba said the review of the three audit reports had been completed and will be tabled in Parliament once it returns from recess.

In the last two financial years, the national government allocated Sh240 billion, which was based on the 2009/10 audit reports, a move which was opposed by the national government.

Reason to smile

The Council of Governors has already launched a campaign dubbed Pesa Mashinani to push for the amendment of the Constitution in order to increase money set aside for the counties.

Namwamba disclosed that the committee had finalised reviewing audited reports dating as far back as five years. He said the committee will also be pushing to have the Auditor General complete the auditing of 2013/14 annual report by December this year, hoping that by the next revenue share in 2016 financial year, counties will have over Sh400 billion in their kitty from the Government.

“County governments now have a reason to smile after we finished reviewing audited reports by the Auditor General. We had huge backlog going back to almost five years, which we have been working on and we can now say that more cash is on the way to counties,” he said.