The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Budget has given Migori County seven days to reconcile its procurement compliance records with those held by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).
Committee Chairperson and Mandera Senator Ali Roba said the county submitted supporting documents only on the morning of the meeting, denying both the committee and the regulator sufficient time to examine them before the hearing.
Roba stressed the importance of adhering to parliamentary submission timelines to facilitate effective oversight.
“Once a letter is written to you, please submit the documents within the timeline specified in the letter, so that before you appear, we can share them with the respective authorities in time and ensure senators interact with the documents,” Roba said.
Under parliamentary procedures, documents are required to be submitted at least seven days before a committee appearance to allow lawmakers and relevant agencies adequate time for scrutiny.
Owing to the late submission, the committee granted the PPRA additional time to review the records against the Public Procurement Information Portal (PPIP) before submitting a formal technical assessment.
Migori Senator Eddy Oketch requested that the PPRA’s report comprehensively address the implications of any procurement irregularities, including contract validity, supplier debarments, financial consequences and asset valuation.
“The PPRA should help elucidate, if any, voiding of any contracts, whether there has been any supplier debarment, and whether there have been any severe financial and budgetary implications in the County Government of Migori, especially in terms of withholding or delay of national funds and how that has affected projects,” Oketch said.
Appearing before the committee, Migori Governor Ochillo Ayacko attributed previous compliance gaps to limited technical capacity but said the county had since addressed the challenge through staff training.
“In the 2022/2023 financial year, there was a reporting gap due to lack of technical expertise. However, the Department of Finance and Economic Planning, through an IT expert from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, organised and conducted in-house training in June 2023,” Ayacko said.
“The training equipped staff with the necessary technical expertise on the use of the Public Procurement Information Portal,” he added.
During the session, the governor also appealed for legislative support to secure funding for the absorption of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers on permanent and pensionable terms, citing the ongoing industrial action in the health sector.
In response, Roba said the Senate had already made provisions for UHC funding under the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill, with allocations based on the number of personnel in each county.
He assured the county government that the Senate would push the National Assembly to expedite consideration and passage of the Bill to facilitate the release of funds.
The committee resolved to invite the Migori County executive back after receiving and reviewing the PPRA’s technical evaluation report.
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