Reports from the office of the Auditor General Edward Ouko have unearthed another scandal where taxpayers are said to have lost Ksh20 billion.
According to the 2015-2016 financial report, the money had been allocated to the National Irrigation Board (NIB) for irrigation schemes but somehow went missing.
The missing funds which cover three financial years were lost after the NIB failed to adhere to procurement rules as required by the law.
One of the main projects marred by the scandal under investigation is the Ksh7.3 billion Galana-Kulalu irrigation scheme which President Uhuru Kenyatta launched in January 2014.
[caption caption="Auditor General Edward Ouko"]
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Besides, officials from the Irrigation Board inflated costs, cooked financial books, and undertook ghost projects.
For instance, NIB leased land for a five-year period from the Agricultural Development Corporation at an inflated cost totaling up to Ksh3.6 billion, a deal that could cost taxpayers Ksh360 million.
Reports by The Star indicate that the board could not also explain why it leased 20,000 acres for five years yet only 10,000 acres were required.
Although the project was expected to produce 20 million bags of maize, the Auditor General's report indicates that only 103,000 bags have been produced since the commissioning of Galana-Kulalu irrigation scheme.
"In the circumstance, it has not been possible to confirm Ksh150m, being lease charges payable by the Board for the five years for the idle land, is a proper charge to public funds," the audit report stated.
Other concerns raised in the report include the fact that 21 irrigation projects initiated in 2012 for Ksh880 million have stalled with NIB seeking an extra Ksh15 billion to complete them.
The board members' expenses shot up by 740 percent from Ksh3.4 million to Ksh25 million in one year.
Ouko indicated that: "It was not possible to confirm whether they will be completed in the near future and the additional cost(s), if any, required to complete them or losses the Board may suffer if projects are not completed."
Ksh10.3 billion was allocated to the NIB in the current financial year by the Jubilee administration with the auditor noting that it was not possible "to ascertain that the total expenditure of Ksh3,603,941,641 is a proper charge on public funds."
During the Madaraka Day celebrations, Uhuru reiterated his commitment against rampant cases of graft in the country promising to introduce lie-detector as a vetting process for government officials.
[caption caption="Uhuru during Madaraka celebrations"]
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The National Irrigation Board scandal is likely to be a major impediment to the food security drive which is among President Uhuru's Big Four Agenda.
