House teams given a week to probe Auditor-General report

The Senate leadership has given House teams seven days to establish an oversight committee to review the Auditor General report for Financial Year 2019/2020.

Howecer, senators decried inaction and lack of implementation of audit reports by investigative agencies amid concerns of rampant corruption in counties.

Led by Vihiga Senator George Khaniri, the lawmakers said no action is taken by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) against misappropriation of funds in counties.

Khaniri claimed that even after the yet-to-be-established County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) looks at the Auditor-General’s audit reports and makes recommendations to EACC and DCI, Kenyans are yet to see action against culprits. “There is a lot of concern on the oversight role on county governments. The primary oversight is done by county assemblies, and we only do secondary oversight, but people want action,” Khaniri said. His colleagues lamented the slow pace by majority and minority leadership to establish the committee.

He went on: “The life of this Parliament is coming to an end very soon. Once we act on these reports, there is lack of implementation by EACC and DCI. Some of the reports are on governors who are serving their second and final terms,”

Speaker Kenneth Lusaka consequently ordered the majority and minority leadership to second names to the committee formerly chaired by Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko by tomorrow (Thursday) to commence an inquiry into financial audit reports of county governments.

“In the Senate Business Committee, we gave them one week whose deadline is Thursday. We are running out of time. We should get it by next week,” Lusaka said.

Billions of money

CPAIC oversights the expenditures of billions of taxpayers’ money by county executives and assemblies. It grills governors, Speakers, and top finance officers on audit queries. The committee is sessional —  its term expires at the end of every session (year) and a new one has to be constituted.

Lusaka spoke even as lawmakers piled pressure on investigative agencies to tame runaway graft in devolved units. The legislators said many governors and their finance officers were not being held to account, especially those serving final terms, despite being implicated in massive financial malpractices by the Senate.

Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, who chaired the committee for two terms (2017-2019 and 2019-2020), said his team made radical recommendations — including prosecution, investigation and surcharge — to the investigative agencies: EACC, DCI, and DPP, but in vain.

There is a lot of concern that some of these reports touch on governors whose terms are coming to an end. Therefore, there is concern that they will not be brought to account,” he added.

Kajwang: “For those of us who still go out to seek votes for re-election, the biggest question has been the action taken by the House on reports of the Auditor-General,”