A tense moment ensued in Parliament after senators sitting in the County Public Accounts Committee adjourned its meeting with Governor Hillary Barchok of Bomet County on Tuesday, February 14.
The Senators led by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang had invited Barchok as part of their oversight mandate to scrutinise his county's revenue and expenditure accounts of the County for the 2019/20 financial year.
However, the committee's session took an unprecedented turn after the governor failed to produce crucial documents for scrutiny before the committee.
This led to a contest from a section of the committee's membership who maintained that the governor should have carried the requisite documentation and produced them to the Office of the Auditor General.
Senators Richard Onyonka (Kisii), Samson Charargey (Nandi) and Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo) pushed for adjournment, arguing that the lack of papers hindered the possibility of conducting an informed hearing.
Consequently, Senator Kajwang, the Committee's Chair, adjourned the session to allow the Bomet County chief to produce the records of the procedure followed in procuring a revenue collection system.
In his ruling, the Chairperson ordered Barchok to furnish the Auditor General with papers to ascertain the transparency of the county's records.
"We are dealing with political stories rather than facts and records," Kajwang stated.
"This is not a Committee of stories. We, therefore, adjourn to allow the Governor to get the necessary documents which he must share with the office of the Auditor General."
Their counterparts in the National Assembly of the Public Accounts Committee also held committee sessions where Principal Secretary for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) Idris Salim Dokota over 26 audit queries from the audited accounts.
In their resolution, members of the PAC called for stern action against government departments failing to pay pending bills after receiving cash from the National Treasury.
