IEBC fails to pay bills, Treasury blamed for not releasing cash
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
What you need to know:
- The report adds that among the bills already paid by the commission is Sh420.86 million in legal fees.
- However, about Sh200 million remains outstanding in money owed to law firms.
- The Auditor-General also raised issues with the accuracy of the Sh3.16 billion property held by the commission.
Treasury has come under attack for failing to release Sh4.33 billion to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The poll agency has pending bills traced back to the 2013 General Election.
The pending bills, according to the report of Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu for the 2018/19 financial year that is at the National Assembly, may distort the commission’s books of account.
The report adds that among the bills already paid by the commission is Sh420.86 million in legal fees. However, about Sh200 million remains outstanding in money owed to law firms.
Yet even as this emerged, the commission splashed Sh3.38 million on domestic travel, Sh2.85 million in foreign travel, Sh13.95 million on training, Sh5.28 million on hospitality and Sh1.73 million on cleaning services during the period under review. The money is part of the bills already paid
No land ownership files
Ms Gathungu also said failure by the Treasury to release the money in good time may affect provisions for the subsequent year to which IEBC is to be charged in line with the Public Finance Management Act.
“The commission has explained that the accumulation of the bills was due to failure by the National Treasury to release funds,” the auditor says in the report that will now be a subject of the court of accounts proceedings by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The committee is chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi.
The Auditor-General also raised issues with the accuracy of the Sh3.16 billion property held by the commission.
The amount includes Sh116.42 million for buildings, but excludes the value of 41 constituency office blocks, according to the financial statements submitted to the Auditor-General.
IEBC has also not obtained ownership documents for several parcels of land given to it by the national and county governments and whose values have not been included in the statements.
The commission is on the spot for failing to maintain a comprehensive register of land and buildings and the terms under which they are being held. This includes conveyance, address, area and date of acquisition.
