A watchdog Committee of the Senate has faulted Governor Fatuma Achani of making adjustments to the approved budget of Kwale County Executive without seeking the authority of the people as required by the law.

The County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) also raised concern over a litany of gaps in the county’s budgeting process adding that the Governor has done little to raise the county’s own source revenue since she seized power in 2022.

At a meeting on Monday, the Senators expressed concern Governor Achani for arbitrarily adjusting the county Executive budget for the 2022/23 financial year in which she altered departmental allocations and failed to submit a memorandum to the County Assembly to justify the adjustments.

 The Public Finance Management Act requires that such variation should only be approved upon submission of requisitions by accounting officers justifications offered in the memorandum to the County Assembly.

“A budget is not a piece of paper,” Senator Moses Kajwang’, the chair of the Committee, warned the Governor when she appeared before the Committee to respond to queries raised in the Auditor General’s report for the County for the 2022/23 financial year.

“It is a charter between you and the people of Kwale and sitting down to arbitrarily adjust the budget without reference to them is illegal.” 

In the 2022/23 financial year, the County Executive prepared a budget of Sh7.8 billion. 

This was subsequently adjusted by Sh2.9 billion through the Supplementary budget, rising to Sh10.8 billion.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu observes in her report that the adjustments were not supported with memoranda from accounting officers to confirm that the changes had been requested and explanations given for either scaling down or ceasing of planned development programmes.

During the period, the County incurred an expenditure of Sh124.9 million on construction of roads. Upon review of documents, the Office of the Auditor General discovered that Sh30.2 million were incorrectly charged to construction of roads instead of construction of buildings and purchase of vehicles and other transport equipment.

Governor Achani maintained that departments made the necessary requisitions for the supplementary budget and her administration had prepared the memorandum and submitted to the County Assembly for approval.

“I totally disagree with the opinion of the Auditor General on the issue of the memorandum,” she told the Committee, adding that the mistake of her team was failure to annex the memorandum on the bundle of documents they submitted to the Committee.

She could neither table a copy of the memorandum or justification for the adjustments from the user departments.

“there was a memorandum but there wasn’t justification provided for the adjustments,” she told the Committee.

Senator Fatuma Dullo accused the County Executive officers of letting the Governor by failing to execute mundane things that are provided for in the law.

“They are basically throwing you under the bus,” she told the Governor, asking her to take disciplinary action against the officers who failed to submit the memoranda to the County Assembly.

“They know that is what is required; that is what the law demands but they are not giving you a proper briefing.”

The position was supported by Senator Samson Cherarkey who urged the governor to consider taking disciplinary action.

“Adjusting the budget without requisition from the user departments is illegal,” he observed, even as he asked the Governor to take action against the officers.

The committee also expressed concern that the growth of revenue during her tenure had remained flat, except revenue accrued from hospitals.

The governor denied there are more sick people in the County but noted the increase in hospital revenue was as a result of the increase in hospital facilities.

“You are making business with the sick. From the records it appears that Kwale County executive is happy when people fall sick,” explained Senator Kajwang.

The Committee ordered the Governor to submit the memorandum of the supplementary budget to the Office of the Auditor General before the committee deliberates on the way forward.

“The Auditor General should advise us within 7 days and the Committee will take a decision it deems appropriate,” said Senator Kajwang.