This archive report was first published on 15 November 2019.
Documents tabled before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee revealed that top county officials in Homa Bay hired casuals to collect revenue, instead of contracted county workers, potentially resulting in millions of shillings lost by taxpayers.
According to the documents, the casuals were paid 10% of the total amount they collected, which led to a sharp decline in revenue collection from Sh232 million to Sh101 million.
Appearing before the committee, Governor Cyprian Awiti was unable to explain the process used to hire the casuals. It also emerged that some of the money collected by the county was spent without being banked, violating regulations.
The county collected Sh40.4 million from public health services but spent Sh10.8 million at source, against regulations guiding revenue collection.
The documents showed that the county collected Sh232 million in the 2014-15 financial year, which dipped to Sh192 million in the 2015-16 financial year and further plummeted to Sh144 million in the 2016-17 financial year.
Senator Moses Kajwang', chair of the watchdog committee, questioned the decline in revenue collection, stating, 'What is happening in Homa Bay? Are you collecting and pocketing the money or the economy of Homa Bay is on recession in all these financial years?'
Mr. Awiti defended his administration, citing the 2017 elections and the migration of fish to neighboring Uganda as causes of the decline in revenue collection.
He stated, 'Nyanza people especially those from Homa Bay are hot-headed. They told me they won’t pay anything in 2018 after the elections. I could not force them,' and 'The economy is bad; we must look at Homa Bay as a rural county. Our fish have also migrated to Uganda.'
The county was also criticized for understating pending bills by Sh38 million, with an audit report indicating that the devolved unit had Sh781,034,345 in pending bills, not Sh742,315,940 as stated by the county government.
Senator Kajwang' urged the county to unlock the pending bills, stating, 'Why are you subjecting contractors to unnecessary delay for their payments? Sh742 million is not a small amount. Unlock this amount so that money can circulate in the economy of Homa Bay.'
