Auditor General raises red flag over Sh700m expenditure by City Hall's liquor board

The Nairobi City County Alcoholic Drinks Control Licensing Board cannot account for more than Sh700 million, an Auditor General's report presented before the Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Commitee (PAC) has revealed.

According to the report, the liquor board failed to provide supporting documents including receipt books, cash books, ledgers,  payment vouchers and supporting schedules for payment totaling  Sh707.5 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020.

“In the circumstances, the accuracy, completeness, and validity of the receipts and payments of Sh427.2 million and Sh277.3 million could not be confirmed,” read the report.

PAC Deputy Chairperson, who is also the Kileleshwa MCA, Robert Alai indicated that the lack of supporting documents raises eyebrows and the committee will summon the officials of the board for an explanation next week.

“There is nobody who knows how they spent close to Sh300 million because there are no supporting documents to support the expenditure. We will engage the board next week to ensure they have accounted for everything,” Mr Alai said.

Mr Alai has also raised concerns about the liquor board raising its own revenue and spending it without any checks and balances.

“Nobody knows how this money was spent because there are no receipts and records. We have had challenges with this institution from the licensing of bars and the way they collect the licensing fees. We expect them to get an explanation and the documents next week,” he said.

The auditor general’s report also queried why the financial statements were submitted in June 2022 which is more than one year and eight months after the statutory deadline of September 30, 2020.

According to the Public Audit Act (2015), financial statements should be submitted to the auditor general within three months after the end of the fiscal year.

The revelations come amid concerns that the county government has been missing its revenue collection targets over the years. In the last financial year ended June 2021, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected Sh9.7 billion against a target of Sh16.4 billion.