The Senate has called for a deeper probe into how the County Government of Samburu spent Ksh36 million to pay 36 casual workers as part of a larger investigation into Ksh390 million flagged by the Auditor General.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu flagged a Ksh36 million expenditure the county used to compensate casual workers and another Ksh350 million for compensation of county staff.
It is also alleged that the administration of Governor Lati Lelelit irregularly recruited casual workers in the county health facilities and created offices within the County Public Service without following the law.
In the report covering the financial year 2022-2023, the auditor general said there was no proof that the funds were prudently utilised.
The County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC), which is tasked with evaluating county audit reports, expressed concerns over the expenditure of Ksh390 million.
According to documents the county submitted to the auditor general, Ksh36 million was used to compensate 36 casual workers.
However, the county did not attach a list containing names of the casuals who were paid the monies, forcing Senators to conclude that the expenditure was fishy.
“It was our observation that the money used to pay the casuals to the tune of Ksh36 million was not prudently utilised,” ruled Senator Moses Kajwang’, the Chairman of the Committee.
In his defence to the Committee, Governor Lelelit maintained that the Board was involved in creating the Office of the Governor’s Delivery Unity, he did not submit any documentary evidence to the committee to indicate that his action was lawful.
However, Senator Kajwang directed the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) to move to declare the Governor’s Delivery Unit redundant and surcharge all officers deployed there as they were a product of an illegality.
“In the absence of evidence on whether the Board was consulted, we direct the EACC to demand a refund from the officers who were recruited to work in the unit. It is illegal,” said Senator Kajwang.
Samburu County has faced challenges related to misappropriation and mismanagement in the past, and the problem has been compounded by poor revenue collection.
For instance, during the 2021/2022 fiscal year, Samburu only achieved 56.9 per cent of its annual revenue goals, generating Ksh85.38 million out of an expected Ksh150 million.
