Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has flagged the expenditure of over Ksh2.1 billion by Baringo County in the financial year 2018/2019.
According to her latest audit report, the county operates over 192 bank accounts, that could have been used in the misuse of the funds.
“The county executive operates 192 commercial bank accounts that it uses to disburse funds to dispensaries. However, the closing balances in the accounts have not been incorporated in the financial statements by the county. In addition, when the audit sought to confirm the balances, the respective banks did not respond to letter sent to them,” the report read in part.
The accounts, some of which were termed as illegal, were used to wire millions to other accounts, with some of the money not accounted for in the county financial reports.
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“In the absence of sufficient and reliable information, the accuracy of the cash and the cash equivalents balance totalling to Sh2.1 billion reflected in the statements of assets and liabilities as at June 30, 2019 was not confirmed,” added the report.
The auditor general faults Governor Stanley Kiptis’ administration for breaking government banking regulations, that require that all bank accounts of county governments, other than imprest accounts, be operated at the Central Bank of Kenya
“Therefore, in operating the accounts with commercial banks, the county executive was acting contrary to government banking regulations. The regulations require that all bank accounts of county governments, other than imprest accounts, be operated at the Central Bank of Kenya,” added the auditor general.
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