Machakos County Assembly is on the spot for diverting Sh36 million meant for settling pending bills to other expenses.
The assembly had received Sh36 million from the Exchequer to settle pending bills but diverted the money to operational expenses such as insurance and vehicle maintenance.
Speaker Anne Kiusya and Clerk Joseph Mutisya revealed that the assembly Sh19 million of the money was spent on hospitality.
Mutisya told Senate Public Accounts Committee that another Sh15 million was used to set up a gym for MCAs.
The committee, chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’, was considering audit reports for the financial years ended June 2020 and 2021.
The report said the county assembly is grappling with Sh107.7 million debts.
This is despite carrying forward outstanding payables from financial years dating back as far as 2013.
“It means you got the nod for upward review of your ceilings through false pretense. You requisitioned for purpose X but used it for purpose Y,” Kajwang’ said
The assembly could also not satisfactorily explain why the pending bills have been outstanding for such a long time.
The committee gave the assembly three months to come up with a plan on how to settle the pending bills.
Mutisya defended the diversion of the funds, saying it was due to budgetary constraints.
"You mean you have a gym in Machakos county assembly?" Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka posed.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu had flagged the assembly for huge pending bills relating to legal fees.
Out of the Sh47 million outstanding eligible pending bills, Sh37 million was legal fees owed to two law firms.
“From what we are seeing here, there is a big problem in Machakos county. How can the bulk of the pending bills be legal fees? This is the same thing we witnessed with the county executive,” Kajwang’ said.
“Looks like the county assembly and the county executive have high affinity for legal services,” Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei said.
Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo questioned why the assembly opted to engage high-end lawyers despite having a legal department.
Mutisya told the committee the huge legal fees were related to an election petition in 2013.
He said there are documentation gaps in relation to the pending legal fees and that is why the matter continues to drag.
“On one hand you are saying there are documentation gaps while on the other you want to go for taxation meaning you have already admitted liability. What is not happening here?”Kajwang’ posed.
Nyandarua Senator John Methu, faulted the current assembly for failing to demonstrate how they were settling the matter.
“Everything must be put in order since you are now in office. Stop saying the matter happened when you were not in office,” Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu said.
The assembly was also put to task for violating the law by raiding the mortgage fund account to fund its operations.