This archive report was first published on 6 July 2021.
July 6, 2021, marked a significant day for Mombasa County as Governor Ali Hassan Joho appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) to answer audit queries.
During the hearing, Joho revealed that the county had lost close to Sh2 billion in revenue collection since the operationalization of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in 2018.
The SGR, a multi-billion shilling project, was President Uhuru Kenyatta's flagship initiative that saw the Madaraka Express roar to life after many years.
However, Joho blamed the situation on stalled hospital and Early Childhood Development (ECD) projects, as well as financial constraints that have had a negative impact on development projects.
He also took issue with the national government's decision to continue running Kenya Ferry, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Port Health, and Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri).
Finance County Executive Committee (CEC) Maryam Mbaruk echoed Joho's sentiments, stating that the SGR had adversely affected the logistic sector, a major revenue stream for the county.
“Over the years, revenue has been increasing exponentially but due to the operationalisation of SGR in late 2018, revenue has taken a dip,” said Mbaruk.
She added: “A number of ventures within the logistics sub-sector have actually closed shop. We have lost between Sh1 to 2 billion, and this is going to increase if no measure is taken to ensure the county benefits from the SGR."
The county government attributed the loss of revenue to the transportation of cargo through the SGR, which led to some transporters shutting down their businesses and relocating to the Central Business District (CBD).
According to the audit, the department of education undertook to construct eight ECD classrooms in eight locations during the 2014/2015 financial year.
The project was to be undertaken at a cost of Sh214,173,840, but only six ECDs had been completed while the remaining two were at various stages of completion at the time of audit in October 2019, a delay of four years.
The contract extension resulted in a total price variation increase of Sh16,314,651, which could have been saved had the projects been completed on schedule.
“The county executive may not fully finance its budget activities which in turn may adversely affect delivery of goods and service to residents of Mombasa County,” states the report.
