Members of the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget were on Tuesday, May 28 irked by the responses from the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) over the alleged misappropriation of Kenyans' billions.
The committee questioned the authority after reports indicated that at least Ksh10 billion could not be accounted for. The assets are alleged to have been misused by the authority.
Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba who raised the concerns demanded a report on how the money was spent to ensure that Kenyans whose assets were spent could be compensated.
The committee chairperson and Mandera Senator Ali Roba requested the officials to clearly respond to the matter at hand since it was a matter of public interest.
"You might assume that by speaking nicely, you will be able to evade the jist of the questions and what we want answers to on this matter. We do not want an embarrassing situation for mature adults," he added.
Roba further revealed that the officials had not given satisfactory evidence and therefore were validating Senator Orwoba's claims of misused money.
On the other hand, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale opined that the authority had created an environment where some rogue officials have found a way to misuse and embezzle Kenyans' money and assets.
Despite the Senators' questions, UFAA officials who were present failed to give an explanation of how the funds were spent.
However, the officials requested 14 days to draft and present a comprehensive report on how the money was spent and respond to other questions raised by the legislators.
Assets are listed as unclaimed in case of death, poor record keeping, relocation, negligence, forgetfulness, and ignorance of the previous holder of the assets.
Notably, UFAA has been urging Kenyans who are yet to claim their assets to take action since the money and assets were lying idle.
In February, the authority published a list of government institutions with unclaimed assets including the El Nino Emergency Fund, the Agriculture and Food Authority, the National Environment Authority (NEMA), the Community Development Trust Fund, and the Kenya Hospital Authority among others.
Kenyans can dial the short *361# to confirm if they have any assets being held by the authority.
