Kenya budget blunder: What MPs found

• MPs found out that the discrepancy which has affected 36 ministries was caused by a computer error.
• They have recommended that an external investigation be launched at the Treasury to find out if there have been anomalies in the last three budgets.
• A serious financial crisis gripped the Government as a result of the flaws in the Supplementary Budget, blocking all payments by ministries.

MPs investigating a Sh10 billion Treasury blunder will on Wednesday recommend an independent investigation into the budget making process going back three years.

Leaks of their proposals came as a serious financial crisis gripped the Government as a result of the flaws in the Supplementary Budget, blocking all payments by ministries.

Those who have seen the report by the House and Finance and Budget committees, to be presented in Parliament on Wednesday, said the MPs will demand the withdrawal of the error-ridden supplementary budget passed by the House two weeks ago.

They will also require Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta to report to the House actions he has taken against Treasury officials responsible for the error that has crippled financial transactions in the entire government system.

Sources said the MPs found out that the discrepancy which has affected 36 ministries was caused by a computer error and have demanded that the officer responsible be identified and punished.

The MPs are understood to have expressed reservations about the budget making process and recommended that an external investigation be launched at the Treasury to find out if there have been anomalies in the last three budgets.

Sources in the know also said that the Supplementary Estimates approved by Parliament at the end of last month will be withdrawn and a fresh set of estimate books printed and taken to the House by the Finance minister to meet the extra cash that the Government needs to bridge its spending in the light of famine and post-election violence.

These are some of the findings that the joint committee is expected to table before Parliament as ordered by Speaker Kenneth Marende.

Other recommendations were said to be that Treasury comes up with a tamper-proof system of budget making to avoid mistakes likes the ones which resulted in the more than Sh10 billion blunder.

Riddled with problems

It is also understood that the joint committee wanted investigations by an external body to find out who was responsible for the alterations of the figures.

In addition, they called for a forensic audit into the budget making systems at Treasury to ensure that only a few senior officers have access to the budget and supplementary estimates because such mistakes were likely to drive the public to lose confidence in the Treasury.

The committee found that the discrepancies pointed out by Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara were slightly higher than the figures he presented to Parliament. They also found out that the presentation of data during the budget making process was riddled with problems due to the changes that have been made in the process.

In the past, the fixed column could not be changed but in the latest system it can be altered and that was why there were discrepancies in the supplementary estimates.

They recommended that it must be established whether the discrepancies were as a result of computer software, malice, or sabotage. They also noted that Mr Kenyatta reacted angrily and arrogantly without checking the facts.

On Tuesday, several ministries reported that they could neither make payments nor purchases after the ministry of Finance disabled the computer system that controls Government financial operations.

The Government operates an integrated financial management system which processes all payments including validating vouchers and issuing of cheques.
Currently, the system, which is supported by the World Bank, has been out of action since Monday. It means that if the controversy over the supplementary budget persists for long, essential government services could soon grind to a halt.

Ministries were only able to pay imprest. Neither current contractors nor pending bills could be processed.