Tana River County Assembly spent Sh100 million to construct the Speaker’s residence but the project never took off. The Senate Public Accounts Committee, which is probing the county over plunder of public funds was shocked to learn that the project had not commenced three years after money was allocated. Documents presented to the Auditor General showed that the Speaker’s residence had been constructed for Sh100 million.

Under the chairmanship of Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, the committee termed the County Assembly a criminal enterprise where public funds were plundered with impunity. They directed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to move with speed and probe top county officials who could have been involved in the scandal.

Other payments

Kajwang said the committee will be pushing for the dissolution of the County Assembly on grounds of corruption.

“We cannot sit pretty and watch as the people of Tana River are being defrauded by the same leaders who are supposed to be safeguarding their resources,” said Kajwang.

When he appeared before the committee, Governor Dhadho Godhana (inset) defended the county over the allegations. He was however not able to explain the non-existent speaker’s residence despite the allocation of public funds.

“All issues flagged out by the Auditor General, some going back to the 2020/21 financial year have not been resolved,” observed Kajwang.

The governor could not satisfactorily explain the status of the construction works of the proposed county headquarters. While the audit reports suggested that it was at 23 per cent in 2020, the governor’s response did not capture the true status.

The committee was also concerned about an item in the book of accounts, which was itemised as “other payments” which has been growing exponentially. In the 2020/21 financial year, the budget for the item was Sh111 million, but the expenditure shot to Sh241 million, more than double.

The following year, the expenditure on the item shot to Sh267 million.

“The office of the Auditor General must establish what goes into this budget line and why the figure keeps going,” said Kajwang.