New Report Says More Than Ksh 66 Billion Looted by Jubilee As Obama’s Air Force One Left JKIA
Just as President Barack Obama’s Air Force One was taking off from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Ethiopia on Sunday evening, Mr. Edward Ouko, the Auditor General, was releasing a damning Report which indicated that during the 2013/2014 financial year, members of the Jubilee government looted over Ksh 66 billion from the Treasury.
This latest Report further underlines the extent to which Jubilee government is looting the Kenyan economy. After coming to power through a rigged election, The administration of Uhuru Kenyatta has specialized in stealing taxpayer’s money.
Using the principle of “It’s our turn to eat”, there appears to be no limit to corruption. The anti-corruption bodies in place to check corruption (past and present) appears to be toothless. Regardless of propaganda from State House, the agenda of Jubilee government is to steal from Kenyans because those in charge know that they are responsible to nobody but themselves.
The Report by the Auditor General is just the latest evidence in a series of multiple exposures which could have ignited any responsible government to take immediate action by rounding up all suspects, hand-cuffing them, dumping them in custody, trying them in a Court of law and either jailing them for life or hanging them with a guitar wire at Uhuru Park if found guilty.
In the case of Jubilee, no action can be taken against the thieves because the President of the Republic is not just a documented thief of public resources but also sanctions stealing of public funds by his officers. The best action the President is known to take in the face of corruption is to send his corrupt officials on a brief luxurious vacation (aka stepping aside) before they are reinstated after being given a new “clean bill of health” to continue looting the economy.
Take it or leave it: The “House of Mumbi” is leading Kenya astray and the faster Kenyans begun a serious re-thinking of how to recover their country, the more it will be possible to reconstruct the country. For now, thieves and robbers are in charge at State House, Central Bank, Treasury, Parliament, Kenya Revenue Authority, Office of President, Office of Vice President, Judiciary and any key government institution imaginable. It is time for a democratic socialist revolution to abolish the rotten capitalist system of government the thieves have been using to steal from Kenyans since the days of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta as Kenyans suffer in their millions.
The Kenya Red Alliance (KRA) is ready to lead this revolution. Let us all join hands under the wise leadership of KRA to rid the country of the blood-sucking Mafia cartels that have been milking the country dry as millions of Kenyans die of starvation, treatable diseases and a host of preventable causes. For further info about the Revolution, keep an eye on kenyaredalliance.com.
Okoth Osewe
Secretary General
Kenya Red Alliance (KRA)
Kenya Stockholm Blog 
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Auditor puts ministries on the spot over missing documents for Sh66.7bn deals
The Auditor-General has raised the red flag on the questionable spending of Sh66.7 billion by 17 ministries and state departments in the last financial year.
In his report for the 2013-2014 financial year, the Auditor-General, Mr Edward Ouko, said that the money may have been illegally utilised because the concerned authorities failed to produce any documents to authenticate how the money was used.
The money is part of a massive Sh450 billion in unsupported expenditures. The national Budget for the year reviewed was Sh1.3 trillion.
Earlier reports that Mr Ouko released last week exposed irregularities connected with inflated purchases by county governments, many of which, he said, were spending money on non-priority areas such as travel for elected officials.
In the audit of the national government, the latest report says that the ministries of Transport, Health and Education were among those unable to account for tens of billions allocated to them during the financial year under review.
NO DOCUMENTS PRESENTED
Mr Michael Kamau, who has been charged in court with abuse of office, was the Cabinet secretary for Transport in the year under review. His counterparts in Health and Education are Mr James Macharia and Prof Jacob Kaimenyi respectively.
According to the report, the Transport Ministry did not present any documents to show how it spent Sh22 billion, which was part of the money allocated to it by the National Treasury.
The Ministry of Health could also not explain how it spent Sh22.5 billion just as the Ministry of Education failed to account for Sh12 billion allocated during the same period.
“In the absence of the records and documentation, the propriety of the expenditure of Sh66.7 billion could not be ascertained,” the auditor said. “Therefore these public funds may not have been utilised lawfully and in an effective manner.”
Other ministries and departments that failed to display absolute prudence in the management of public resources include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which could not explain the whereabouts of Sh1.4 billion, the Office of the Attorney-General, which could not account for Sh2.7 billion and the Ministry of Agriculture (Sh1.2 billion).
Others are the Judiciary (Sh463 million), Ministry of Industrialisation (Sh300 million), Government Press (Sh271 million), National Humanitarian Fund (Sh142 million), and the Teachers Service Commission (Sh128 million).
ON THE SPOT
The auditor also unearthed what he described as fraud in payment amounting Sh9.2 million by the Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution, chaired by Mr Charles Nyachae.
“This matter is under investigations by relevant government bodies,” says the report.
The Parliamentary Service Commission, chaired by National Assembly Speaker and whose secretary is the Clerk of the Senate, has also been on the spot for unapproved variation of a construction contract by Sh171 million.
Similarly, the Ministry of Information and Communication has also been put on the spot for suspiciously double paying a supplier Sh84 million for services already paid for by office of the President and the Cabinet Office. Dr Fred Matiang’i is the Cabinet secretary for Information.
The Ministry of Interior also failed to account for Sh2.3 billion which the audit report says was irregularly used to buy houses.
“A review of this matter on 29 September 2014 indicates that title deeds have not been issued to the government despite the fact that full amount of contract sum has been paid,” says the report.
CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH
The Presidency — which includes the Office of the President and that of the Deputy President — received a clean bill of health, with the auditor qualifying their expenditure for the year under review.
“There were no material issues noted during the audit of the financial statements,” says the report.
Although the Ministry of Defence said it had spent Sh74 million as per diem for officers who had travelled to United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, Cuba, South Korea, Malaysia, Oman and Kuwait, the auditor said that the 42 officers did not leave Kenya at all “during the purported period, an indication that a claim of Sh74 million does not comply with Principles of Public Finance Management, 2012.”
Only 1.2 per cent of Kenya’s Sh1tr budget can be accounted for
By STEVE MKAWALE and PATRICK KIBET
Updated Wednesday, July 29th 2015 at 08:14 GMT +3 :
NAIROBI: Before he left the country on Sunday, US President Barack Obama delivered a riveting speech rallying Kenyans to tackle corruption, citing it as the biggest threat to the Government’s growth.
Obama repeated the message in his address to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tuesday, the first by a US president, warning that corruption was “draining billions of dollars” from the continent.
But barely 24 hours after the US leader left Kenya for Ethiopia aboard Air Force One, the State’s auditor released a report that highlighted questionable financial transactions in the national government.
Auditor General Edward Ouko lifted the lid on questionable spending of nearly a third of the Sh1.2 trillion spent in the 2013-14 financial year, detailing massive unexplained, plunder of State funds expenditure, irregular payments and in some instances blatant plunder of public resources by sections of the national government.
The report on the financial statements for the year 2013-14 tabled in the National Assembly Tuesday indicts ministries, departments and independent commissions for suspect expenditures totaling Sh450 billion.
As a pointer to the extent of reckless spending of taxpayer’s money, the report reveals that only 1.2 per cent of the Sh1 trillion budget allocated to the national government during the period under review was lawfully and effectively utilised.
The Auditor was further unable to express his opinion over financial statements of Sh28 billion due to lack of sufficient and accurate information and explanations.
“I was unable to confirm whether expenditure totaling Sh390,266,678,529 was incurred effectively and lawfully as required by Article 229(6) of the Constitution, “ Auditor General Edward Ouko said in the report dated June 29.
Auditors flagged unsupported expenditure, excess expenditure, pending bills, management of imprests, maintenance of bank and cash accounts and maintenance of accounting records among the concerns in public spending.
cash bail
Among those fingered for wastage is the National Police Service Commission that spent Sh31 million on rent covering a 6-month period for offices not occupied.
Auditors also uncovered suspected looting of cash bail deposited in exchange for freedom from custody. Police stations in Nairobi alone could not account for Sh60 million in purported refunds to accused persons.
Seventeen ministries and State departments were found to have used a total of Sh66.7 billion, but failed to avail the documents in support of various expenditure.
The Ministry of Health had the highest amount of unsupported expenditure totaling Sh22.5 billion.
It was also cited for spending Sh24 billion without the approval of Parliament as required by the law.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure failed to avail documents in support of various expenditures totaling to Sh22 billion and had an excess spending of Sh77 million.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and that of Energy and Petroleum were some of those with unsupported expenditures of over sh1 billion.
Eight ministries and State agencies were said to have excess expenditure amounting to Sh24,566,651,642. Six additional ministries and departments would have exceeded expenditure against recurrent or development votes.
The Auditor General has cited massive mismanagement of imprest by State officers who were holding a total of Sh351 million, which ought to have been recovered or accounted for before the close of the financial year on June 30, 2014.
Officials in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts have the highest amount of outstanding imprest amounting to Sh135 million.
Government officials in the ministries of Information, Communication and Technology, Foreign Affairs, Petroleum and Energy, Environment, Water and Natural Resources; and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technologies were holding imprest amounting to between Sh10million and Sh70 million.
The Auditor General has questioned payment of Sh1.2 billion by the Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government for purchase of land and houses for the General Service Unit in Ruaraka along Thika Road.
And the Defence ministry could not prove the taxpayer got value for money from the Sh1.1 billion paid for 32 military vehicles.
The report has revealed that the the National Treasury paid Sh228 million to service a loan the national government guaranteed in 1970 for construction of the Ken-Ren Chemical and Fertiliser Company, a white elephant.
The audit also revealed that the Strategic Grain Reserve Fund failed to properly account for Sh109,830,561 allegedly incurred in the purchase of gunny bags, spending of Sh281,439,987 incurred on storage and fumigation and Sh238,313,713 incurred in transport costs.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000170770/obama-exits-massive-cash-rip-o-ffs-exposed?articleID=2000170770&story_title=only-1-2-per-cent-of-kenya-s-sh1tr-budget-can-be-accounted-for&pageNo=1
Kenya overspending on infrastructure, World Bank reveals
By FRANCIS MULI
Friday February 6, 2015
World Bank Country Director for Kenya, Diarietou Gaye.
Kenya is spending a lot of funds on infrastructure and applying slow pedals on other sectors, something which will create an imbalance of development in the country’s quest for middle-income economy.
A report from World Bank reveals that the government has channeled most of the funds on roads and other infrastructural developments with the pressure mounting on the government due to devolution, forcing it to spend on irrelevant projects.
The report dubbed Kenya Expenditure Review (PER) seeks to highlight the hits and misses of devolution. It also presents to possible solutions to challenges facing devolution and government expenditure in Kenya.
“The PER is focused on reviewing four key areas; emerging opportunities in both national and county level governments, progress of devolution, government expenditure and how we co-ordinate our resources towards the development agenda,” said World Bank’s Country Director, Diarietou Gayo.
“The fiscal deficit financed through debt is reflected in the range of 3.3% of GDP, and the rising stock of public debt from 37% to 43% of GDP (net of deposit), which about half – 22%-was external debt in 2013/2014,” adds the director.
The report (PER) cites another challenge of limited mobilization of revenue collection, disbursement and use. Out of 47 counties, only ten met the targeted 30% development spending threshold in 2013/2014. They include: Wajir, Turkana, Bomet, Machakos, Murang’a, Homa Bay, West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Kisii and Nyamira. Other challenges sited in the report include poor disbursement of funds to counties, misappropriation of funds and low literacy levels.
“Devolution is the centre key in the new constitution and we expect challenges. The challenges give us a new phase for development and strategizing on our next move,” noted Chairman of the Commission for Revenue Allocation Mika Cheserem.
Decision Time : Spend More or Spend Smart? Kenya Public Expenditure Review
Kenya is currently in an expansionary phase of its fiscal policy reflected in a widening primary deficit. The fiscal framework is marked by a significant fiscal expansion over the last three years, 2011/12 to 2013/14. The fiscal stimulus implemented in 2009/10 increased aggregate spending by 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However the envisaged fiscal retrenchment at the end of the program did not materialize and fiscal expansion continued with the general election in 2013. Aggregate expenditure averaged 25 percent and revenue at 18 percent of GDP. The fiscal deficit financed through debt is reflected in the doubling of the primary deficit (commitment basis) now in the range of 3.3 percent of GDP, and the rising stock of public debt from 37 percent to 43 percent of GDP (net of deposits), of which about half 22 percent was external debt in 2013/14. The fiscal developments have seen an increase in the share of debt service in total spending from 13 percent to 15 percent of recurrent spending, equivalent to 2.6 percent of GDP. Kenya s debt service is higher among East Africa Community (EAC) peers, 2 percentage points above Ethiopia and Rwanda, and 1 percentage point higher than Uganda and Tanzania.
Citation
World Bank Group. 2014. Decision Time : Spend More or Spend Smart? Kenya Public Expenditure Review. Nairobi. © World Bank.
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/21507/940210WP0v10Bo0ort0Vol01201400FINAL.pdf?sequence=1
My staff threatened over Sh66.8 billion unexplained expenditure – Auditor General
The Auditor General has said the lives of employees in his office are in danger over a report that Sh66.8 billion may have been pocketed. Edward Ouko said some of his staff have been threatened after the report, on the Sh1.59 trillion 2013/2014 budget, was released last week. “It is a point of concern when people intimidate staff at the Auditor General’s office,” he said during an interview at Citizen TV on Wednesday morning. “Kenyans must respect that the report is my mandate as provided for in the constitution.” Noting that most of the “unknowns” lie with the official fund receivers, Ouko said people should read and understand the report. It gives a fair review of each ministry, he said, adding that they should answer to citizens through the Public Accounts Committee, not him. “I am not saying any money has been stolen, I am saying there is unsupported expenditure.
This report does not include the responses from the clients, please do not misquote me,” he said. The Auditor General noted that his work is to ensure receipts reflect actual amounts of money spent. He explained that there is usually a period of two months when his staff members and the ministries engage continually. “After the two months, we write a letter of management of issues, outlining all findings by my staff. If there are areas we do not agree on with ministries, we rectify and come out with the final report,” he said. Noting that he is not mandated to state what the unsupported expenditure was used for, Ouko said the EACC should investigate the irregularities. “This means there is no paper trail to account for the unsupported expenditure. Some ministries told us that they transferred money to counties, but provided no evidence,” he said. Ouko said the release of the findings was not aimed at belittling the government, adding that the report was presented to parliament before US President Barack Obama’s visit. “The timing of the report was not strategic. It was planned long before Obama’s visit.
The report was delayed because we lack adequate resources,” he said. “My staff have had to work even on weekends to meet deadlines, as we do not have county staff. I would want to give more reports that are thorough and delivered on time.” He said parliament is mandated with acting on requests from his office, adding that more funding is needed considering the scope of work. He said the document would have been longer had explanations to each ministry been included. Noting that the Health and Transport ministries are most affected, Ouko said clarifications that followed the release of the report show that some do not take it seriously. He said his relationship with the Treasury is cordial despite CS Henry Rotich’s remarks that the report was rushed and short of international standards of auditing. Rotich said the Auditor General’s office allowed accounting officers a “very limited period” to respond and did not hold final audit review meetings “with most accounting officers, if not all”. He termed findings that the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice did not account for Sh2.7 billion as “not logical”. – See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/my-staff-threatened-over-sh668-billion-unexplained-expenditure-auditor-general#sthash.tXNHBRN2.dpuf