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A senate committee meeting to question Marsabit Governor Mohamud Ali over audit queries aborted on Thursday after he skipped the session due to insecurity in the county.
In a letter to the Senate county Public Accounts and Investments Committee, the governor said the county is experiencing increased insecurity caused by tribal and cattle rustling.
“This has affected normal operations of the county government and its residents’ livelihoods,” read the letter.
Ali was expected to appear before the watchdog committee to explain myriads of queries raised by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu on the expenditure of funds sent to the county in 2018-19.
He told the nine-member committee chaired by Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko that the county is involved in mediation and peace activities to prevent further escalation of the clashes.
“Due to this critical role, we request the Senate to grant us one month extension and reschedule our appearance from May 27, 2021,” the county boss said in the letter.
Marsabit has been on the limelight over ethnic and cattle rustling that has caused death of scores of people and loss of livestock.
Ali was expected to respond to several queries including unsupported expenditure amounting to more than Sh100 million, stalled projects, illegal operations of commercial bank accounts and unsupported pending bills amounting to Sh437.03 million.
According to the report, some 231 projects worth Sh2.9 billion have stalled. Out of this, 55 projects worth Sh237.78 million had not started at the time of audit.
“In the circumstances, the residents of Marsabit did not therefore get the expected value for money from the budgeted projects that had not started and those that were ongoing during the year under review,” the report reads.
In addition, the county did not provide documents to justify payments of Sh1.79 million to a supplier of building materials. Another Sh12.27 million spent on supply of vaccines, fishing nets and drugs was also not justified.
The county failed to provide supporting documents such as quality, viability and quantity of the drugs and vaccines supplied, users’ requisitions, list of beneficiaries and training programmes reports for review.
Marsabit executive could also not account for Sh5.09 million reportedly spent on purchase of ICT equipment—supply of internet protocol phones and installation of earthing of county headquarters local area network.
“However, the quotations provided for audit review did not include the detailed specification of the IP phones,” the report reads.
It adds, “During a physical verification carried in the month of September 2019, it was observed that the IP phones and LAN infrastructure installed in the ground floor and first floors of the county headquarters offices were not functional.
-Edited by SKanyara
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