The National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority is being probed by the National Assembly after the Auditor General flagged missing funds amounting to Ksh1.1 billion at the agency.
Appearing before the National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy Managing Director John Muhia told lawmakers that no bank statements prior to the year 2009 could be traced as all accounting records were destroyed in a fire that gutted the authority’s premises.
The Managing Director explained the agency had hit a dead end after its banker, indicated through a letter dated June 27, 2023, that it could not provide information requested for the period dating back 14 years.
The Office of the Auditor General raised accounting queries at the agency for the Financial Years 2018/2019 to 2020/2021.
During the proceedings, committee members wanted to understand why the bank reconciliation statement showed that the cashbook had a mistake of Ksh1.95 million which should have been fixed in the cashbook before making the reconciliation.
Committee Chairperson David Pkosing sought answers on whether the authority had any digital backup of the relevant data.
"I presume that by this time most government systems had been automated. So why can't that information be retrieved?" the MP posed.
The Committee is also probing the Auditor General's claims that the Authority had undisclosed and long outstanding loans amounting to Ksh2.5 billion.
The Committee also noted that the Authority's financial books did not reflect the value of various assets earmarked for transfer to various Water Works Development Agencies amounting Ksh16.8 million.
Away from that, the committee was also scheduled to probe audit queries of the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) from the Financial Year 2017/2018 to the Financial Year 2020/2021.
The sitting was, however, adjourned to a later date after the Company's Managing Director notified the Committee that he had been summoned for an abrupt meeting at the Office of the Attorney General.
Pkosing gave the adjournment directive, citing the need for the MD, who is the Company's overall accounting officer, to honour the summon from the Attorney General Justin Muturi's office.
"That is the law, and we cannot listen to any of you on these matters of audit, other than the MD who is the accounting officer," said Pkosing.
