Employment of staff by the Mandera county government has been turned into a family affair, with the majority of employees coming from the dominant clan.
Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif-led administration has ignored the National Cohesion and Integration Act, 2008 when hiring staff, according to a report by the Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
A review of the payroll data revealed that the County Executive had a total staff of 3,761 as at 30 June, 2024. However, out of this number, 1,918, representing about 51 percent, are distant relatives.
The auditor-general said this is contrary to Section 7(2) of the National Cohesion and Integration Act, 2008, which stipulates that no public establishment should employ more than one-third of its staff from the same ethnic group.
The governor, senator, women representative, three members of Parliament out of six and majority of the nominated MCAs are all from the dominant clan.
The top county staff, including the county secretary, the county chief of staff and the head of the county delivery unit, share clan ties.
Also, senior officers of the County Public Service Board are from the dominant ethnic group, making it difficult for a balance when hiring county staff.
According to locals, the report reflects the true picture of affairs in the county, and they want the authorities to act on the revelation.
“That finding is very correct. There is a form provided where you have to declare your clan when being hired in Mandera. Most candidates from the dominant clan are always hired,” Mr Abdirahman Abdi, a resident of Mandera, said by phone.
Ms Ethila Mohamed, Chairperson Mandera County Public Service Board could not be reached for comment as our calls went unanswered. She also did not reply to our text messages on the same.
At the same time, in the 2023/2024 financial year, Mandera County made unsupported direct payments to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) worth Sh4 billion.
Of the Sh4 billion, Sh1.7 billion was paid in respect of basic salaries of permanent employees, which further includes an amount of Sh40 million paid directly to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on the basis of the Authority’s Agency notice for non-remittance of taxes.
Ms Gathungu said the payments were not supported by details of the deductions that were not remitted to KRA.
“In addition, the payments were not processed through the Integrated Financial Management System Information (IFMIS). In the circumstances, the completeness and proper classification of the expenditure amounting to Sh40 million could not be confirmed,” she said.
Mr Abdikadir Tache, the County Chief Officer in charge of Finance, could not also be reached for a response.
The auditor-general also flagged irregular procurement of supply and delivery of business start-up kits.
The Executive procured business start-up kits for various groups through requests for quotations from six different suppliers on various occasions instead of floating a single annual open tender, thereby engaging in an irregular split of procurement. At least Sh15 million could not be explained under this purchase.
In 2021, the county government initiated the construction of a regional livestock market at a cost of Sh340 million, but in 2023, the contractor was paid an extra Sh22 million in the form of pending bills.
“Physical inspection conducted on September 17, 2024, revealed that the regional livestock market was completed but not in use, an indication that the market was not for immediate use. In these circumstances, the value for money invested in the construction of the regional market could not be confirmed,” Ms Gathungu said in her statement.
She noted anomalies in the total amount used in the construction of six Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) classrooms across Mandera.
The county administration could not explain how Sh6.8 million was spent on the construction of six classrooms.
A physical inspection conducted on September 14, 2024, revealed that the ECDE classrooms were not constructed on a stand-alone site but were joined to other classrooms constructed by the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDFs), contrary to the Bill of Quantities.
In addition, the classrooms were not branded to reflect that they were constructed by the County Executive, resulting in challenges in verifying projects implemented by the County Government and those implemented by NG-CDFs.
Governor Khalif also spent Sh368 million on National government functions, where construction of infrastructure was done in several primary and secondary schools, Kenya Medical Training College, Teachers Training College and Technical Training Colleges and construction of infrastructures for Kenya Defense Forces.
This was contrary to provisions of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, which sets out the functions and powers of the National Government and the County Governments.
By the close of 2023/2024 financial year, Mandera County had a total pending bill of Sh2.2 billion, with the Auditor General warning that the accumulation of pending bills exposes the County Executive to potential legal suits.
Already, the county legal department reported to have spent Sh46 million on legal services, but the circumstances, the accuracy, completeness and regularity of the expenditure could not be confirmed.
On procurement of pharmaceutical drugs, non-pharmaceuticals, dressings, and lab reagents from Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), Sh148 million spent could not be confirmed.
“This expenditure was not supported by way of requisitions from the County health facilities, inspection and acceptance committee reports, counter receipt voucher (S13) and counter issue notes (S11) and S3 cards,” the auditor-general revealed.
During the year under review, the County Executive failed to operationalize a climate change fund of Sh325 million.
As a result, the County Executive incurred an expenditure of Sh45 million for climate change under the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action Program (FLLoCA).
The County Executive established the County Climate Change Fund through Section 4 of the Mandera County Climate Change Fund Act, 2021, to fund climate change.
The Fund was administered by the Chief Officer Environment and Climate instead of the designated Fund Administrator, contrary to Section 10 of the Mandera County Climate Change Fund Act, 2021.
Mandera was also flagged for making payments of salaries outside the IPPD where 552 employees, including 446 National Police Reservists (NPR) engaged on a temporary basis were paid Sh189 million through the manual payroll.
According to the auditor-general, use of the manual payroll requires manual input of data and calculation of deductions, which is prone to errors and manipulation.
