Your money is safe, says Finance minister

Finance minister Njeru Githae told Parliament that he will keep looters of public funds away from government coffers May 15, 2012. FILE

Finance minister Njeru Githae has told Parliament that he will keep looters of public funds away from government coffers.

‘No money has been lost and it will not be lost under my watch,” said Mr Githae Tuesday.

The minister made the remarks amid a barrage of questions on accounting discrepancies in the Treasury’s revenue positions.

John Mbadi (Gwassi) and Martin Ogindo (Rangwe), who sit in the Budget Committee, said the Treasury had in the books of 2007-2008 failed to satisfy the Auditor General.

For instance, Mr Mbadi said that while the Treasury had told the Auditor General that the collections of corporation tax for the year in question was Sh86 billion, he declared a figure of Sh79 billion.

The Gwassi MP also said the Treasury had not said the truth about the net domestic borrowing, when he told the Auditor General that there was no money, yet he reported to Parliament that Sh13.8 billion had been borrowed locally.

“If you borrowed that money, where did you bank it, because the Auditor General cannot find it in the Exchequer account?” posed Mr Mbadi.

Mr Githae said the figures were based on “unaudited revenue returns” and that the differences were as a result of “timing differences”.

“The balance differences will always be there, this year and they will be there next year, because of timing differences. For example, if you pay directly to KRA it is recognised immediately, if you pay through a collector, it will take time,” the Finance Minister told the MPs.

Mr Mbadi insisted that the minister explain the shocking revelation from the Auditor General that questions linger over Sh489 billion.

“Why were these figures based on unaudited revenue returns yet you reported in June 2009. Can you tell us why the figures in the exchequer account are different from what you’re giving us on the floor of this House?’ posed Mr Mbadi

He dismissed the minister’s explanation of a timing difference saying that if that were the case, then it ought to be “systematic and consistent”.

“If you gave me Sh50,000 to bank for you, then I come to you with a deposit slip of Sh35,000, can you really say that this is because of timing differences?” Mr Mbadi said insisting that the government must have lost a substantial amount of money.

But Mr Githae insisted that the Treasury had not lost any money and that it had a cogent reporting mechanism and that there was nothing sinister in the discrepancies, because, in any case, that’s why “reconciliations are done”.

“We have nothing really to hide. Absolutely nothing to hide,” the minister said..

Mr Ogindo said the minister had to ensure that the audited accounts were consistent to avoid loss of money.