Senators quiz Joho in Sh217m probe

Senators have given Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho one week to explain why he used more than Sh200 million without the permission of the Controller of Budget.

If he does not, the senators could recommended that he be prosecuted for flouting the Public Finance Management Act.

Senators on Tuesday told the governor to furnish the auditor’s office with documents showing how the money was spent without approval. The money was collected in the county.

Lawmakers said Mr Joho risks a jail term of three years or a Sh5 million fine if he fails to present the evidence as required by the Public Audit Act.

“Examination of various bank account statements revealed that revenue totalling Sh217,330,354 was banked in bank accounts other than the designated revenue collection account. A further review indicated that the funds were not transferred to the county revenue fund account at Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in line with the requirement of Public Finance Management Act, 2012,” said the auditor.

Mr Joho appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts and Investments Committee at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi. The committee is chaired by Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o.

Mr Joho was required to respond to audit queries over the county’s 2013/14 financial report and explain why he ignored the law that made the Controller of Budget’s approval compulsory before any county revenue can be spent.

The law requires every county to deposit the money in the county revenue account in the Central Bank of Kenya and seek the controller’s signature before the money is withdrawn. Each of the 47 counties has a revenue account in the CBK.

“There is a financial requirement that the money must be put in the county revenue account and that before you use it, no matter what crisis you are in, you must seek the permission of the Controller of Budget. Using it at source means you have not banked as required by the law and you have not sought permission from the controller,” said Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar.

The lawmakers said such a high amount of money could not just be spent according to the wishes of the governor.

His Nyamira counterpart, Mr Kennedy Mong’are, said: “There was a legal lapse. There was lack of transfer of the revenue to the CBK. The money was used at source. The auditor wants direction on what should be done. An investigation ought to be done to patch up this missing link.”

FACING FINANCIAL CRISIS

Mr Joho, who was accompanied by more than a dozen county officials, defended himself, saying he was facing a financial crisis at the time and had no choice but to overlook the law. He, however, said he would account for every coin.

“I want to assure this committee that there is no missing link. This money can be accounted for penny for penny. We can be comfortably seated here and want to adhere to laws but that might not apply to certain scenarios. At the beginning, we needed to deal with orders that we were not aware of. We had striking workers, nurses on the streets and we needed to save lives. We agreed to put this money in an account that would help us run the county affairs. We can account for the money,” he said.

Senators were still not convinced with his defence, saying he should admit that there was a violation of the law.

“This money must be accounted for properly. The bottom line is it must be accounted for. Can you account for it? Can you assure the Senate that it was used prudently? And has the balance of it gone to the revenue account?” asked Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi.

Mr Joho will appear again before the committee in two weeks when he is expected to have provided the documents to the auditor for verification before they are placed before the House team.

“Since the county is saying the money has already been accounted for, it is important to ask the auditor to verify the expenditure and the county to tell us whether the anomaly has been stopped. We want to know how the money was spent,” said West-Pokot Senator John Lonyangapuo.