Nakuru County owed over Sh12B in local revenue, analysts

Nakuru, Saturday, April 15, 2023

K.N.A By Anne Sabuni

Nakuru County has continued to miss out on its revenue collection targets, with the civil society calling for strengthened internal audit systems and digitization of revenue collection processes to seal glaring leakages.

An analysis of audit reports for the financial years 2017/2018, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 carried out by Nakuru Civil Society Organisations Forum (NACCSOF) established that the county was owed Sh12 billion in single business permits, plot rates and land rates among other uncollected revenue targets.

NACCSOF Chief Executive Officer, Paul Masese, regretted that the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the Controller of Budget (CoB) Reports had never been subjected to the County Assembly scrutiny, despite being in the public lime light.

Masese added that though the law demanded that the Audit reports be subjected to County Assembly scrutiny and follow-up reports made concerning improvement of the issues raised, little had been done to address the shortcomings as evidenced by the repeated recommendations in the reports.

"If the county organised workshops and monies were spent in allowances and other expenditures without even a list of attendees being provided as evidence, this literary points at weak internal systems," he regretted and urged the County Assembly to hold the officials to account.

He noted that weak internal audit systems that did not flag-out improper documentation on expenditures as well as slow absorption of development funds, had impacted negatively on service delivery.

Centre for Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance Director Bancy Wanjiru, cited the health sector budget that had queries on irregular expenditure and inadequate supporting documents amounting to Sh867 million for the years 2018/2019 and 2019/2020.

The County, Wanjiru said had purchased five ambulances at a cost of Sh47.5 million, without proper evidence of the same, while construction of a maternity wing at Bahati Rural Health Centre had stalled after having gobbled Sh2.99 million.

An X- Ray machine, purchased and delivered at Elburgon Health facility has never been operated as the county had not deployed a Radiologist to the facility, denying the county an opportunity to recover Sh2.5 million used in its purchase. 

"Bahati sub county hospital for instance is cited to have collected revenue but never banked," noted Wanjiru.

The Forum also pocked holes into the Covid-19 mitigation funds in which the county received Sh602 million, according to the OAG, only to utilise Sh312 million, with little evidence in documentation of the expenditures which mainly consisted of purchase of food.

NACCSOF Chairperson Wilkister Akinyi regretted that the funds would have gone a long way in engaging Community Health Volunteers, nurses and other medical staffs who were fundamental in the fight against the pandemic, in addition to increasing protection of the front line workers.

Delayed Exchequer issues had also been cited as a hindrance to service delivery, with the group urging the county to widen its revenue collection base and seal loopholes, to remain afloat.

Courtesy K.N.A