PAC headed for a retreat ahead of tabling report on State, counties spending

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC)  is on Friday headed for a retreat in Kisumu aimed at report writing on the spending of the billions of money allocated to government ministries and County governments.

The committee is expected next week to table in the National Assembly a report detailing how billions of shillings allocated to various government ministries in the 2014/15 financial year was used amid audit queries and claims of pilferage.

The Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi chaired committee report writing follows a summon on accounting officers of various ministries to shed light on questionable expenditure flagged by Auditor General Edward Ouko.

“We are basically done with 2014/2015 accounts. We shall be reporting on them. We are 70 per cent through with 2015/16 accounts,” Wandayi told one of the local dailies on Monday.

The committee has been scrutinising various audit reports that brought to light mismanagement of taxpayers’ cash in State departments and counties.

Last week, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi directed the committee to table its report which he said is critical in determining county allocations. 

“I am asking PAC and PIC (Public Investments Committee) to table their report so that counties can get more funding. We all know that the allocation they get is pegged on the latest audited reports,” he said.

Some of State departments that appeared before Parliament to explain audit queries are the National Treasury, Presidency, ministries of Agriculture and Defence, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Judiciary, Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).

In most of the queries, the auditors raised the red flag after, among other things, the departments failed to produce financial documents to support spending.

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