Mung’aro on the Spot as Probe on Kilifi’s 2022/2023 Audit Report to Begin
The Senate is set to escalate its probe on the 2022/2023 Auditor General’s Report on counties, with Kilifi County being one of the five listed with adverse reports.
In September, the Senate, in its move to bolster financial accountability in county healthcare management, held a meeting with Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro, where various issues were raised.
The Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds, led by Senator Godfrey Osotsi, focused on addressing various Auditor General reports on the financial statements of health facilities and municipalities in the county.
Mung’aro appeared before the committee to respond to audit queries concerning the Kilifi Health Services Fund and the municipalities of Malindi and Kilifi for the fiscal years 2019/20 to 2022/23.
The committee granted Governor Mung’aro additional time to prepare responses to the audit reports of the municipalities.
“The Governor must ensure the Accounting Officer provides all necessary documents during the audit process, or face investigation and possible prosecution,” Senator Osotsi noted.
The committee directed that regulations supporting the fund be enacted by the end of the 2024/2025 financial year and aligned with the Facilities Improvement Financing Act, 2023.
In the 2022/2023 audit report, Kilifi County was flagged for various irregularities, among them unsupported payments for emergency relief and refugee assistance.
The statement of receipts and payments, as disclosed in Note 6 to the financial statements, reflects payments in respect of other grants and transfers totalling Ksh 3,069,643,299.
This includes an amount of Ksh 214,052,360 in respect of emergency relief and refugee assistance used for the supply and delivery of dry maize and beans by local firms.
However, details on the receipt of the cereals in the County’s main stores, delivery vehicles to the stores, vetting of beneficiaries, distribution of the cereals to the beneficiaries, work tickets for distribution vehicles from the stores to the beneficiaries, and other critical information were not provided for audit.
The audit revealed that the expenditure of Ksh 214,052,360 on emergency relief and refugee assistance could not be confirmed.
The governor is also expected to explain unsupported payments in the Cash Transfer Programme, where Ksh 12,403,875 could not be accounted for.
Other critical questions raised include a loss of Ksh 17,391,791 incurred on the purchase of boats, which could not be confirmed.
He will also answer questions related to the payment of salaries outside the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD).
County Executive Committee Members are set to respond to the same before the County Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee.
