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The Auditor General will investigate how 10 counties spent cash sent to them by the Ministry of Health.
Edward Ouko has written to the counties asking them to provide relevant documents on the expenditure and programmes supported by the funds.
Mr Ouko is interested in knowing how money for the Free Maternity and Food Ration programmes as well as cash from the World Bank was spent. The counties affected are Lamu, Nyeri, Kilifi, Laikipia, Mombasa, Narok, Nakuru, Migori, Bungoma and Kisumu.
“The special audit is subsequent to a request from the Public Accounts Committee to the Auditor General to conduct a special audit on MOH (Ministry of Health) with regard to procurement and payments for various goods and services for the financial year 2015/2016,” read the letter dated May, 16, 2017, and signed by Acting Deputy Auditor General FO Odhiambo.
“The purpose of this letter is to notify you of the planned visit and to request you nominate your staff that was directly involved with management of the funds to avail procurement and expenditure records.”
The audit will begin on May 29 and end on June 29.
The records sought include documents to do with the construction of hospitals in Othaya, Bungoma, Nanyuki and Lamu. Other records Mr Ouko will be looking for are connected to World Bank funds for Kilifi, Bungoma, Narok and Migori.
Bank statements
The Auditor General also expects the counties to provide bank statements through which funds were received, cash books and payment vouchers as well as ‘goods received’ notes for fund rations for Mombasa, Narok, Kilifi, Lamu, Nakuru and Kisumu.
In the current financial year, the ministry released Sh4.5 billion against Sh6.7 billion claimed by the counties for free maternity care and user fee waiver between July 1, 2016, and February 20, 2017. This is the only money governors want audited by the ministry subject to an agreement on the mechanisms to be applied.
Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu wrote to the Council of Governors (CoG) on April 21, saying his ministry owed counties Sh2,173,090,000 and Sh1,723,090,000 for free maternity, and Sh450,000,000 user fees.
“Included in the total disbursement for free maternity is payment of Sh1,482,945 relating to the pending bill of year 2014-2015,” said Dr Mailu.
This comes only days after the ministry extended its internal systems audit to counties by dispatching 15 internal auditors to 32 counties to assess internal controls that were put in place to ensure effective utilisation of public resources.
Last week, Director of Medical Services Jackson Kioko wrote to CoG explaining the mission.
“The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the activity and request that your officers in the selected facilities co-operate fully with the team and provide relevant documents that auditors will require as they undertake the systems review,” the letter dated May 15, 2017, read.
Concerns raised
Counties have raised concerns over the nature of the audit, arguing that the national government does not perform a supervisory role and thus cannot send internal auditors.
The CoG insisted that it was independent and had internal audit systems, and only the Kenya National Audit Office led by the Auditor General had overall power to audit both level of governments.
Yesterday, Dr Kioko said the ministry would write to counties to clarify that the audit targeted only national government programmes and grants.
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