Senators have expressed fears that governors are planning to use a ruling last year on the consideration of audit reports to evade accountability for billions of shillings spent in counties.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ said a High Court ruling that barred Parliament and county assemblies from considering audit reports three months after receiving them from the Auditor General was likely to be used by governors to avoid answering questions on how taxpayers' money was being spent.
Speaking during the Senate retreat in Naivasha, Mr Kajwang', who is also the chairman of the powerful Public Accounts Committee, said most governors will now not appear before them to answer previous audit questions that were not considered within three months.
The ruling by Justice Jairus Ngaah directed both county assemblies and Parliament to strictly adhere to the constitutional provision of three months for consideration of audited reports by the Auditor General.
"A declaration is hereby made that the constitutional time limits set out in Article 229(4) and (8) of the Constitution and Sections 48 and 50 of the Public Audit Act, 2015 are mandatory and must be complied with," the judge said.
Mr Kajwang’ said Kisii Governor Simba Arati, who appeared before them last year, had already asked to be excused, saying the committee was "wasting its time".
"The governor said we had called him out of time and were therefore wasting his time," said Mr Kajwang’.
"Our fear is that other governors will come with the same argument and that puts us in an awkward position as a committee," Mr Kajwang said.
Mr Kajwang’ said that while he agreed with the ruling, the court should have allowed some time for the transition.
"We have a backlog of reports and it's not possible to complete them within the time frame set by the court. The judge should have allowed us to clear the reports before the new timelines kick in," said Mr Kajwang’.
Amend Constitution or increase timelines
Lawmakers are now considering whether to amend the Constitution to extend the timelines for considering the reports to at least six months or to expand the membership of the PAC committee to speed up its consideration of the reports.
Mr Kajwang' urged the House leadership to find a way to navigate through the stipulated timelines to comply with the court order.
"Increase the number of members so that we can have sub-committees to work on various reports," Mr Kajwang' said.
Mr Kajwang' further urged the leadership to also fast-track the committee reports submitted to the House so that they can be considered expeditiously and recommended action can be taken against the various officials named.
Article 229 (4) of the Constitution states that "within six months after the end of each financial year, the Auditor-General shall audit the accounts of the National and County Governments and report thereon in respect of that financial year.
Further, Article 229 (8) states that "within three months of the receipt of an audit report, Parliament or the County Assembly shall debate and consider the report and take appropriate action".
According to the constitutional audit timetable, 30 June is the end of the financial year and by September 30 county governments prepare and submit their accounts to the Auditor General.
The Auditor-General presents the audited reports to Parliament by December 31. By March 30, Parliament is expected to have considered the reports and made appropriation decisions.
However, Mr Kajwang' said the timeframe given to Parliament to consider the report was too short, given the number of agencies involved and the calendar of the House.
Both houses of parliament normally go on their long Christmas break in December and resume in mid-February.
"This means that we have a month and a half to consider all the reports, which is not an easy task considering that we also have a budget to deal with," said Mr Kajwang'.
Kitui Senator Enock Wambua said the options available to the House were either to amend the Constitution to increase the timelines or to increase the membership of the committees.
"We need to increase the membership of the committee because that can be done by a resolution of the House," Mr Wambua said.
Mr Kajwang’ expressed frustration over the consideration of reports, saying most recommendations coming from Parliament are usually subjected to political patronage considerations.
He also accused the Director of Public Prosecutions of frustrating prosecutions by frequently withdrawing charges despite the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission agreeing that the named individuals should be charged.
