Via Standard Digital News
In Migori, staff and Members of the County Assembly ( MCAs) were allegedly paid night-out allowances amounting to Sh4.8 million while attending a seminar in Nakuru and at the same time got Sh3.3 million on full board at the same hotel, leading to double payment, an Auditor General’s report has shown.
The Auditor General claimed records showed debtors’ balances worth Sh7.2 million were handed over to the county government by the defunct County Council of Migori.
“However, these balances were not supported by listings, debtors’ registers, copies of invoices and demand notices,” the Auditor General Edward Ouko said.
The defunct County Council employed 22 people without the authority of the Ministry of Local Government and approval from the Finance Committee. As a result, the county government under Governor Okoth Obado (pictured above) spent Sh2.1 million between April and June 2013.
Last year, the county government stopped salaries of 17 employees for being hired irregularly, but Ouko says they should have been sacked.
Audit in Kenya is not designed or objected to false finding as this is a colonial and primitive approach to auditing. Audit should never be approached by biasness and formed oppinions. The office of the auditor should be able to distinguish between error and mistake of the matter in question.Migori county Assembly is one of the best legislative institution in Kenya. I believe the period in question was the early stages of transition from municipal council to county government, the people who were squarely in charge of counties were the transition Authority, Honourable Members of county Assembly were new, no formal county assembly staff had been hired as alleged, The Assembly totally depended on Transition Authority for directions. The issue raised by the Auditor general should have been directed to the Transition authority who were still the paying officers then.This information therefore is bias and half baked.