The Senate County Public Investment and Special Funds Committee has blasted Governor Andrew Mwandime over what it has termed as poor financial reporting of Voi, Mwatate municipalities and Tavevo Water and Sewerage Company Limited.

According to a statement published by the parliament of Kenya on their social media handles on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, the governor failed to give an account of the financial reporting, where the auditor general, through a report had warned that there was material uncertainty related to the concern, revealing a negative working capital of over Ksh532 million and liability of over Ksh1.08 billion outweighing assets, rendering the utility as insolvent.

This prompted the Committee, chaired by Senator Godfrey Osotsi, to demand an explanation for the opaque financial reporting.

“You are operating a company that is effectively bankrupt, yet you failed to disclose the measures being taken to mitigate this condition in your financial notes,” Osotsi stated.

The Auditor General’s report sounded a dire warning on Tavevo’s “Material Uncertainty Related to Going Concern”, revealing a negative working capital of Ksh532.7 million. With current liabilities of Ksh1.08 billion far outweighing current assets, the utility is technically insolvent.

Taita Taveta Senator Johnes Mwaruma questioned the irregular utilisation of customer deposits at the Tavevo Water and Sewage Company

“Tavevo is in breach of the law by failing to explain a thirty-two-million-shilling shortfall in customer deposits that should be held in trust, not used to mask operational deficits,” Mwaruma noted.

Issues of ethics and governance dominated the discussion when Senator Raphael Chimera raised a blatant failure to declare a conflict of interest. The audit revealed that two firms owned by the company secretary were providing legal services to the water company without any formal declaration.

“This is a direct violation of the Constitution’s leadership and integrity requirements. How can the public trust a utility where the person meant to ensure legal compliance is the one benefiting from legal contracts?” Chimera asked.

The company also reported a staggering 50 per cent Non-Revenue Water (NRW), losing Ksh388 million in potential sales.

Governor Mwadime, in his management response, admitted to the gravity of the situation.

“We have established a dedicated NRW coordination unit and are engaging professional debt collectors,” the governor responded. He further committed to enforcing conflict of interest policies and solarising pump houses to cut high electricity costs, contributing to the insolvency.