Auditor General Nancy Gathugu has raised questions over how various government entities spent Sh28.7 billion to support cash transfer programmes. In a report for the financial year 2023/2024, for the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs, the Auditor General regretted that a number of unsatisfactory issues were flagged.

Among these were overpayment of beneficiaries, caregivers supporting multiple households, repeat unsuccessful credit transactions, and poor controls over data input and validation. Gathungu also revealed that various parcels of land for children remand homes, rehabilitation centres, and rescue centres lack ownership documents and have been encroached on.

The lands in question include the Getathuru National Reception, Assessment, and Classification Centre situated in Nairobi’s Westlands sub-county along Lower Kabete Road, which occupies about 17 hectares, the 74.6 hectares of land Wamumu Rehabilitation School occupies, 9.8 hectares of land where the Othaya Rehabilitation School sits, 0.9 hectares where Muranga Children’s Remand Home sits and the 10.1 hectares where Thika Rescue Centre sits.

With regards to the overpayment of beneficiaries, the report says that an analysis of the payment amounts for the Consolidated Cash Transfer Programme data for the period ended 30 June, 2024 revealed that 919 beneficiaries were overpaid by Sh896,500 in the month of February, 2024. The current transfer value is Sh2 000 per month.

On caregivers supporting multiple households, the report shows that an analysis conducted on the Older Persons Cash Transfer Programme revealed that 15,243 caregivers represented more than one household contrary to Clause Invalid documents The department’s operations manual for Consolidated Cash Transfer Programme states that caregivers should not represent more than one household.

The report also indicts the State Department as an analysis of unsuccessful credit reports revealed that 1,719 beneficiaries whose accounts experienced more than three monthly failed credit attempts, totalling Sh34,799,500, due to lack of adequate controls.

The report says that a review done on the persons with Severe Disability (PSD) and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) payrolls revealed that 646 orphans and 3,812 vulnerable children were enrolled using invalid national identification numbers.

“In the circumstances, the efectiveness of data validation controls over beneficiary enrolment could not be confirmed,” the report concludes. In the case of Getathuru National Reception, Assessment and Classification Centre, whose land has been encroached, the report says that while a Chinese construction company was given about 5 hectares to set up their building site as they built the Redhill-Waiyaki Way by-pass, the company built a double permanent perimeter wall on the property as a residence and a yard for machinery yet no lease agreement was provided to this effect.

“Further, it was not explained why the Construction Company continued to use the property about three (3) years after the bypass had been completed,” the report reveals On the land where Wamumu Rehabilitation School sits, the report says that approximately 40.5 hectares of land was allocated to Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and approximately 26 hectares is in the process of being allocated to a local group.

This, the report say has been done yet no approval documents were provided for the allocation.

With regards to the land where Othaya Rehabilitation School sits, the report reveals that physical verification done on the land shows that that the land had not been fenced of and lacked ownership documents while on the land where Muranga Children’s Remand Home sit, the report shows that the Home had no fence and had been encroached upon by private developers who have put up permanent buildings on the land. On the land where Thika Rescue Centre sits on, the report shows that the parcel of land had not been fully fenced.