Kisii County Governor, Simba Arati, was on Tuesday, March 25, grilled by senators from the Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds over several financial discrepancies in the Auditor General's report for the financial year ending June 2024.
One of the major issues raised was the unauthorised hiring of casual workers in the county and their underpayment.
The matter was brought up by the county's senator, Richard Onyonka, who noted that these irregular payments had accumulated to over Ksh24 million.
"Hiring casual workers without authorization and paying them below the legal minimum is unacceptable," Senator Onyonka stated.
Arati acknowledged the discrepancy and noted that the issue had since been handed over to the County Public Service Board for corrective action.
He was also asked to explain further financial irregularities in the report, including errors in financial statements, unsupported spending on medical supplies, and inaccuracies in cash and cash equivalents.
Regarding financial statements, a Ksh3.9 million error was noted, with Senator George Mbugua stating, "Governor, your team failed to disclose prior adjustments in the financial statements. How can this committee trust that such errors won’t happen again?"
Arati issued an unsatisfactory response, promising to ensure a more comprehensive review of financial records henceforth, which prompted Senator Agnes Kavindu to press further.
"What measures are you taking to hold responsible officers accountable? These discrepancies must have consequences," she quipped.
Governor Arati responded, "We are reinforcing internal audits, and officers found negligent will face disciplinary action."
He was also quizzed on the unsupported expenditure of Ksh1.8 million on dressings and pharmaceuticals, to which he noted that the missing payment vouchers had since been provided for verification.
The senators further raised concerns over the inaccuracy of cash and cash equivalents, with Senator Onyonka asking, "Governor, the Auditor-General’s report shows a balance of Kshs. 19,323,816, yet unpresented cheques totaling Kshs. 22,763,955 were found, with Kshs. 5,361,281 being stale. Why were these not reversed in time?"
Arati responded that the cheques had been verified, but they had become stale by then. He clarified that they had since been reversed in the cashbook as of July 2024.
