Mutua on the spot over Sh3 billion pending bills accrued under his watch

Former Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

The Senate has raised concerns regarding former Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua's administration, pointing out a significant issue of unpaid bills totaling Sh3 billion.

The Senate also highlighted the accumulation of substantial external legal fees, despite the presence of a county legal office.

The Senate County Public Accounts Committee sought an explanation for why Dr. Mutua's administration disbursed Sh608 million in legal fees, with Sh408 million being allocated to two law firms, as indicated in the Auditor General Report for the financial year ending June 2022.

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti, who appeared before the committee chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang', said her administration is working to clear pending bills and priority will be given to the long standing Sh967 million owed to suppliers.

"My administration set up a pending bills verification and audit taskforce to look into the eligibility of the pending bills. The taskforce has completed its work and is working on a payment plan to ensure genuine bills are cleared," said Wavinya.

The Auditor General report showed the pending bills amounting to Sh3.09 billion, include legal fees and other related costs of Sh1.14 billion or 37 per cent of the total bills for ongoing court cases.

According to the report, the expenditure on other operating expenses included legal fees payments of Sh31.5 million with a review of county law office records showing legal expenses totaling Sh608 million were included in the pending accounts payables as at June 30, 2022.

The committee was told the county legal department irregularly sourced external legal services besides incurring nugatory expenses on interest and suit cost worth Sh172 million.

"This committee would like to know whether it was prudent to use Sh608 million on legal expenses yet the money could have been used in development projects that could have benefitted local residents. It is wrong to use professionals in various sectors to dry up the county coffers," said Kajwang'.

The Auditor General's report pointed out that failure to settle bills distorts the financial statements and adversely affects the budgetary provisions for the subsequent year as they form a first charge.

Kajwang' told the Machakos governor that while it is clear she was not in charge during the financial year under review, she had an obligation to clear pending bills that have been incurred over the years.

The committee asked Wavinya to provide a list of eligible, ineligible and unverified pending bills which she was unable to present.

"Machakos county is at risk of incurring significant interest costs and penalties with the continued delay in payment of pending bills. It is upon the administration to work towards ensuring they cleared otherwise they might attract legal suits derailing the performance of the county," said Kajwang'.

The Auditor General's report showed the county government in 2018 awarded a Sh400 million contract for the construction of a 12-storey building and was to be completed in 58 weeks. However, a site visit in October 2022 revealed that the project was terminated at foundation level after the contractor was paid Sh80.5 million.