Auditor General flags Kisii County Government's unsupported expenditures amounting to millions

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

The Auditor General has flagged a Sh3.3 million expenditure by the Kisii county government to five officers whose positions allegedly do not exist in the County Executive’s Approved Staff Establishment.

The five officers under the Governor’s Service Delivery Unit were appointed on February 7, 2023, and they comprise a chairperson, vice chairperson, and three members.

In addition, the report says the five were not subjected to a competitive recruitment process as they were directly appointed to their positions, contrary to Section B.6 (3) of the County Public Service Human Resource Manual of May, 2013.

The manual requires the recruitment to give due consideration to the: organisational structure in each department, optimal staffing levels, and schemes of service and career progression guidelines.

The Auditor General says the positions were not provided for in the Salaries and Remuneration Commission Circular dated July 29, 2013 on Remuneration and Benefits for staff serving in the County Government.

They are Advisor-Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Extension Service, Advisor-Stakeholder, Public Participation, and Special Programs; and Advisor- Youth, Gender, and Sports, 

The  Auditor General’s report captured the financial year that ended June 30, 2023.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu says in the report that an effective mechanism for follow-up on the implementation of audit recommendations is lacking.

As a result, she says that most audit queries recur in subsequent audit reports due to a lack of requisite action.

A review of imprest analysis in Kisii County indicates that 18 staff were paid multiple imprests amounting to Sh57 million for domestic travel and subsistence in the financial year 2022/23.

Management explained that these were group imprests issued to officers on behalf of multiple other officers which was not supported by duly documented evidence.

In addition, the amount in question includes Sh33.3 million whose supporting requisitions, approvals, work tickets, and the purposes for which the officers traveled were not provided for audit.

The report further queries the accuracy, completeness, and regularity of the expenditure of Sh 14.8 million in the Roads Department.