Audit queries millions spent by water regulator
What you need to know:
- Board, however, says the figure of Sh125 million is based on 2016/17 printed estimates, which are erroneous.
This error, it says, was pointed out by Wasreb to the parent ministry and the National Treasury during the budget making process as evidenced in existing correspondence.
The Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb) is on the spot for exceeding its budget in the 2016/2017 financial year by Sh117 million without approval, a report by the Auditor-General shows.
Wasreb, which regulates the water sector through issuance of licences and determining tariffs, spent Sh242 million against a budget of Sh125 million. According to Auditor General Edward Ouko, the board spent Sh122 million on salaries and allowances, Sh77 million on unexplained expenses and the rest on development.
“The board spent a total of Sh242 million on recurrent and development against an approved estimate of ShSh125 million without approval,” said Mr Ouko in his latest report on the board's financial transactions.
However, Wasreb said its budget for 2016/17 was Sh256 million. "This was approved by the board as evidenced in available minutes. The approved budget was forwarded to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the National Treasury. The figure of Sh125 million is based on 2016/17 printed estimates, which are erroneous. This error was pointed out by Wasreb to the parent ministry and the National Treasury during the budget making process as evidenced in existing correspondence. The error has recurred in a number of years and is yet to be corrected. However, Wasreb operated within the budget of Sh256 million, which was approved by the board," said the board CEO Robert Gakubia in a statement yesterday. Wasreb said they responded to the audit queries in March 2018.
The auditor issued the board with a qualified opinion, which means that the financial statements they provided were presented in a fair manner.
During the audit review, the board could not explain a variance of Sh63,000 between a statement of cash flows submitted to the auditors. The auditor also raised a red flag over a Sh7 million payment to Water Action Groups from various parts of the country given that the board did not provide evidence approving the expenditure.
“It is not clear how the groups accounted for this money, which was being paid to them monthly or how the management confirmed that they were working as per their mandate,” indicated the report. The auditor therefore said he could not confirm the accuracy of Sh22 million paid for advertising and of which the Sh7 million was part of.
