Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds, led by Senator Godfrey Osotsi, met with the Nairobi City County Governor, Johnson Sakaja. They discussed several audit queries raised by the Auditor General regarding the Nairobi County Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) during the fiscal years 2018 to 2021.

Key issues such as unreconciled water sales, unidentified water losses, under-collection of trucked water supply revenue, and the unverified value of water supplies to informal settlements during the Covid-19 crisis by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services were all on the agenda.

To ensure efficiency and address these concerns, the committee instructed the county government's executive to devise and submit a comprehensive plan detailing measures to combat non-revenue water. The plan should outline strategies to deal with both commercial and fiscal losses. Subsequently, the Auditor General's Office is expected to validate these measures and provide a report on their effectiveness during the next audit cycle.

Additionally, to resolve the issue of unconfirmed value of water supplies to informal settlements, the committee asked NCWSC's management to provide, within two weeks, official correspondence from the National Government that directed the water company to freely supply water to informal settlements during the Covid-19 crisis. The committee also requested certified copies of work tickets from NCWSC management within the same timeframe for verification.

Moreover, the committee directed the county executive to prepare and submit a list of all licensed private exhausters in Nairobi within two weeks. The Auditor General's Office, in collaboration with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), is expected to physically verify these licensed private exhausters and submit a report within a month.

In response to the absence of documentation supporting the grants from the NMS during the audit, the committee requested the county government submit these necessary documents to the Auditor General's Office for auditing, again within a fortnight.

Regarding unsupported staff costs, the county government has been directed to submit minutes from the board meeting that resolved the issue of bonus payouts to staff within a week.

Lastly, concerning pension deductions to Laptrust, the county government is required to provide bank statements and management reconciliations for the period 2015-2023. The Auditor General's Office is then tasked to verify this and submit a report within 14 days.

In attendance at the meeting were Senators Vice Chair Prof. Tom Ojienda, Tabitha Mutinda, Eddy Oketch, Miraj Abdullahi Abdulrahman, Ledama Olekina, and William Kisang, all committee members. Senator Edwin also attended as a friend of the committee.