Auditor General Nancy Gathungu when she appeared before the Senate Comittee on County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee on September 4 /ENOS TECHE
An audit has queried Sh1.07 billion that security agencies said they spent on emergencies in the last financial year, for lack of supporting documents.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu disclosed in recent report to Parliament that details of the payments were not provided for her review.
The Defence ministry, Interior ministry and Department of Irrigation were the beneficiaries of the Sh1.07 billion “for various emergency situations”.
Defence and Interior were allocated Sh500 million each, while Irrigation got Sh70 million for “various urgent and unforeseen requirements”.
The review for the period ending June 30, 2024, revealed ministries, departments and state agencies received Sh6.5 billion in emergency funding.
Gathungu said the three agencies did not provide expenditure returns with details of payments made from the advances for review by auditors.
“In the circumstances, the validity of the amount disbursed from the fund of Sh1,070,000,000 could not be confirmed,” the audit report read.
Funds for ASALs amounting to Sh3.8 billion were also not explained by the concerned state department (for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development), putting its top management on the spot.
The auditor general said no explanation was provided to justify expenditure from the contingency fund.
The report showed the state department had included the activities in the supplementary budget that was approved in the year under review.
“The propriety of the expenditure could not be confirmed,” the report read.
The auditor also flagged irregular use of Sh130 million by other agencies on matters that did not meet the threshold of emergencies.
The audit report showed Sh30 Works department, Sh65 million to Crops Development department and Sh35 million to the Livestock department.
Gathungu said review of the expenditure returns revealed the spending was not warranted.
“Returns revealed the expenditure was in respect of goods and services that could not meet the threshold prescribed in the Public Finance Management Act, 2012,” the auditor general said.
The law provides that the advances may be made from the fund if the Cabinet secretary is satisfied that an urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure has arisen “for which there is no specific legislative authority”.
“In the circumstances, the propriety of the expenditure could not be confirmed,” Gathungu said.
The office of the auditor general over time has deplored difficulties in accessing documents from some state agencies, especially on security spending.
An amendment has been proposed to the Public Audit Law to ease auditors’ work in accessing documents held by security agencies.
The National Assembly Finance Committee chaired by Molo MP Kuria Kimani has proposed the changes in the Public Audit (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Transparency International-Kenya, during public participation on the proposed law, vouched for the deletion of
Section 40 of the Public Audit Act.The existing law requires that the auditor general hold preaudit meetings at the highest level of a security organ.
The meeting is “to agree on areas which may touch on national security and determine the appropriate audit approach that shall ensure confidentiality of information”.
It also provides that audit reports on national security organs may be redacted to shield the identities of persons as well as assets and liabilities, as the case may be.
The law also provides for vetting of all staff of the auditor general carrying out audits of security agencies.
Critics hold that the auditor general is mandated to audit and report on the accounts of state organs, public agencies and any entities funded by public money
