Concern as ministries spent Sh384 billion without approval

Ministries and parastatals spent Sh384 billion received from external donors without informing the Controller of Budget, a report has revealed.

The latest report by the Controller of Budget (CoB) covering the period between July last year and June this year, shows that out of the Sh401.6 billion in the approved estimates for appropriations in aid, only the spending of Sh17.7 billion was reported.

This raises questions on how the rest of the money may have been spent, with CoB calling on Treasury to compel ministries and parastatals to submit their spending reports without fail.

Ironically, Treasury itself has not reported how it spent the Sh12 billion it received from donors. CoB is supposed to authorise withdrawal of public funds before they are spent by the national and county governments.

It has the power to reject requests for withdrawal of funds if it deems the spending as unjustifiable.

“During the financial year, we noted most ministries and agencies within national government did not include appropriation in aid in their financial reports. This has affected the accuracy of the amount of aid,” CoB Agnes Odhiambo said in the report.

Enhance accountability

She added: “Treasury should institute appropriate measures to ensure that the national government reports on generated aid. This will enhance accountability, transparency and completeness in financial reporting.”

In the last financial year, approved estimates for appropriations in aid were Sh401.4 billion comprising Sh61.6 billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh336.8 billion for development.

Only Sh17.7 billion was reported by ministries and parastatals under the national government, comprising of Sh12.6 billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh5.1 billion for development expenditure.

Among those that received the highest amounts but did not inform CoB include the State Department of Transport, which received Sh177.6 billion from donors and Infrastructure, which got Sh69.7 billion.

Among the few agencies that fully reported on their spending are the Auditor General (Sh143.6 milllion), Teachers Service Commission (Sh229.5 million) and the National Police Service Commission (Sh394 million).