The Auditor General has put Kitui County Assembly on the spot over unconfirmed foreign trips and allowances in the 2022/2023 Financial Year report.
In the period under review, 90.6 Million was used in foreign travel and subsistence. An amount of 19.8 Million was incurred on payments for air ticketing, accommodation, conferences, and training for courses offered mainly in the Middle East and Asian countries. However, no justification was provided in support of why the programs were undertaken abroad and not locally.
The County Assembly expended Kshs.1,029,694,736 against an approved budget of Kshs.1,529,877,619 resulting in an under-expenditure of Kshs.500,182,883 or 33 percent of the budget. As of June 2023, the Assembly had accumulated pending bills of 11.6 million.
The Auditor General also flagged 2.7 million with respect to subscriptions paid to the County Assemblies Forum and Society of Clerks. The Audit noted that these entities are not established in law and therefore the payment was irregular.
The report also raised concern about the delayed construction of the speakers’ residence, “Through the statement of professional opinion dated 29 March 2021, the Accounting Officer approved the process to proceed to the next stage. However, the minutes of the tender evaluation committee for the purchase of the land for the construction of the Speaker’s official residence held on 30 April, 2021 (negotiation process) recommended that the tender be re-advertised. The re-advertisement had not been actualized as of the date of completing the audit.”
The Audit also expresses concerns over the lack of a risk management policy, Lack of a Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan, and use of manual payroll.
Missed our earlier story on the Audit queries for the Kitui County executive? check it out below;
