This archive report was first published on 11 May 2021.
Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga is facing audit queries over the use of Covid-19 funds in his county. The Auditor General's special audit report flagged over-expenditure from the county emergency fund in Siaya.
According to the report, as of July 31, 2020, Sh115,884,928 had been committed for Covid-19 related activities, which was against the approved budget allocated to the county emergency fund for Covid-19 purposes.
However, Governor Rasanga denied the allegations, stating that the county only spent Sh100 million and not Sh115 million as indicated in the report. He also claimed that all commitments were charged within the funds and that there was no over-expenditure.
But the Auditor General defended the report, saying there was proof of payment vouchers amounting to Sh115 million. The committee questioned the conflicting information from the county and AG.
Senator Ledama ole Kina posed a question, saying, 'So where did the Auditor General get the findings if the governor is insisting that the amount used was Sh100 million? Did the report come from the sky?'
The committee chair, Senator Fred Outa, demanded that the governor provides proof of expenditure, giving him one week to do so.
Siaya appropriated Sh270 million in respect to Covid-19 and related emergencies, out of which Sh100 million was from the county emergency fund. The county received Sh60 million on July 3 and another Sh40 million on July 14 respectively.
Other funds received by the county include government conditional grants worth Sh97 million, Danida Sh6 million, national government health workers allowance Sh36 million, and Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KSDP) Sh30 million.
It was also faulted for not spending KSDP and the government's conditional grants in good time. The governor said the KSDP funds were used to purchase Covid-19 supplies.
