EACC flags out financial improprieties as it launches anti-corruption reports

Siaya

Friday July 28, 2023

KNA by Philip Onyango

Eleven members of the first Siaya county assembly who failed in their re-election bid are yet to clear more than 12 million shillings that was advanced to them as car loans, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has revealed.

According to the commission, staff at the county executive further owe the government a total of Ksh. 61,886, 378 as un-surrendered imprests for a period dating back to the financial year 2019/ 2020.

The EACC says that county government employees owe the government a whooping Sh.36,435,257 as unaccounted-for imprest in the just concluded 2022/2023 financial year while in the previous year (2021/2022), the amount stood at Sh. 2,807, 126.

Speaking during the release of findings and recommendations of the corruption risk assessment into the systems, policies, procedures, and practices of both the executive and the assembly, EACC commissioner, John Ogalo said that Siaya was one of the six counties chosen to pilot the establishment of corruption prevention committees.

Ogalo said that whereas it was the wish of the commission to prevent corruption so that no one is dragged into court, soon Siaya residents will see action as a result of investigations that have been going on in regard to several corrupt activities.

“We have been conducting investigations which are at an advanced stage and very soon, you will see actions that will be taken,” he said.

Siaya governor, James Orengo said the corruption risk assessment exercise was useful to the county government as it identified loopholes.

Orengo said he was committed to sealing all the loopholes to prevent the loss of resources.

In 2020/2021, the workers issued with imprests failed to account for Sh 13,197,875 while in 2019 / 2020, Sh9,446, 120 remains unaccounted for to date.

According to the EACC, it could not ascertain the status of imprest between 2013 and 2019 for lack of records.

“The county executive operates a manual imprest system. As a result, there was no record of the status of imprest between 2013 and 2019” the report says adding that the narration on the filled imprest warrants was not comprehensive to show the purpose and intention of the requisition.

The commission warned that failure to account for or surrender of imprest within the stipulated period was a contravention of the regulations and may lead to loss of public funds.

It called on the accounting officers to immediately institute measures to recover the outstanding dues from the officers’ salaries together with interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Kenya rates.

The commission further wants the county government and the assembly to strictly adhere to the vote book control procedures, lamenting that payment vouchers were being paid for without commitment in the vote books.

The occasion was also attended by Siaya county assembly speaker, George Okode and the county secretary, Joseph Ogutu among others.

Courtesy ; K. N. A