Governor Natembeya appoints former Auditor General to lead pending bills, staffing audit team
Governor George Natembeya (centre) and his deputy Philomena Bineah Kapkor meeting members of the taskforce appointed to audit the pending bills and staffing at Trans Nzoia county government, amid a huge wage bill.
What you need to know:
- The team is free to summon any current or former county employee or any other person to provide information that would help it in its work
- The assignment will take 30 days commencing the October 17, 2022, when the team is expected to have concluded and ready to hand over the report to the governor
A team set up by Governor George Natembeya to audit and verify Trans Nzoia’s pending bills and workforce has 30 days to hand in its findings and recommendations.
The governor said his administration will not pay pending bills inherited from his predecessor Patrick Khaemba until they are verified as genuine.
"We hope to get a comprehensive report to inform subsequent action in terms of finance and human resource management," he said.
The task force will be headed by former Auditor General Edward Ouko (chairperson) and its members are Jasmin Kwanusu (secretary), Alex Rugera, Chris Wasike Mung'oma, Imelda Midzukani Aruula, Kirato Wanjala Wanyonyi and Jared Rodrick Nyaundi.
The secretariat will sit in the office of the governor at the county government headquarters and the assignment will take 30 days starting on October 17.
Summon
Mr Natembeya said the team is free to summon any current or former county employee or any other person to provide information that would help it in its work.
The governor said there is a standardised template being used in 47 counties to verify pending bills.
Among others, the task force will obtain a full list of the pending bills as of August 8 and get requests for review of bills from the affected contractors.
"They will also record a description of the works done, services given and dates including exact locations and obtain evidence of receipt of goods and services/performance," said the governor.
The team will also carry out, where applicable, physical verification including circumstantial and corroborative evidence of work done and delivery.
Value for money
They will also quantify and evaluate value for money of the work done, goods delivered or services given.
"We have got projects, for instance, in this county that have taken over Sh1.6 billion to construct for the last 10 years and there are still have pending bills to pay. So when are we going to end this? Are we going to do a Sh5 billion project in Trans Nzoia?" he posed.
The team will also advise the county government on an appropriate arrangement of payment of the verified pending bills, which should be “open, equitable, accountable and practical”.
The team will also advise the county government on future management of bills and payables to avoid delayed payments and confirm the total number of staff on the payroll.
"They will also obtain schedules indicating the statutory deductions such as NHIF, NSSF, PAYE and confirm remittance to the relevant statutory bodies and confirm the total percentage of wage bill against the acceptable level," he added.
