The Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds (CPISFC), led by Senator Godfrey Osotsi, held a meeting, today with the Governor of Tana River County, Dhadho Godhana. The purpose of the meeting was to address concerns raised by the Auditor General's Report on the Financial Statements for the Financial Year 2020/21.

During the session, the Committee highlighted that the management of Tana Water and Sanitation Company Limited had failed to prepare financial statements for the preceding years, making it impossible for the Auditor General to conduct audits during that period. As a result, there were no audit reports available for the water company for those years.

To rectify this issue, the Committee resolved that the Governor takes a keen interest in the operations and management of Tana Water and Sanitation Company Limited. Furthermore, the water company's management was directed to prepare the Financial Statements for the financial years 2018/19 and 2019/20 within 60 days and submit them to auditors for proper scrutiny.

Additionally, the Committee mandated the management of Tana Water and Sanitation Company Limited to establish Internal Control Systems, including an Internal Audit Committee and a Risk Management Policy, by the relevant regulations. Evidence of these implementations must be submitted to the Office of the Auditor General for verification.

The Committee also emphasized that Tana Water and Sanitation Company Limited should be fully owned by the County Government of Tana River, complying with the Water Act of 2016 and other applicable laws. Furthermore, the County Government was urged to take action in reducing the Non-Revenue Water, which currently stands at 71%—a staggering 46 percentage points above the sector benchmark of 25% set by the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) guidelines. The County Government must submit a clear and actionable plan within 60 days, addressing both physical and commercial losses, to the Committee and the Office of the Auditor General for subsequent verification in the next audit cycle.

In parallel, the Committee also met with Elgeyo Marakwet County Governor, Wisley Rotich, who was called upon to respond to the Auditor General's Reports on the Financial Statements of Iten-Tambach Water and Sewerage Company Limited for the Financial Years 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2020/21.

During this meeting, the Committee directed the County Government to establish measures for tackling the high Non-Revenue Water, which stands at 32%—7 percentage points above the sector benchmark. A plan to address physical and commercial losses must be submitted to the Committee and the Office of the Auditor General for verification in the subsequent audit cycle.

The Committee further noted that the County Government did not possess ownership documents for a parcel of land housing the water company and other public facilities for over a decade. Therefore, the County Government was directed to obtain the relevant ownership documents within 30 days and submit evidence to the Office of the Auditor General for verification.

Moreover, the Committee called upon the County Government to implement a Debt Recovery Plan within 30 days, as the water company had significant trade receivables during the financial year under review.

In both meetings, Senator Godfrey Osotsi was joined by other committee members, including Vice Chair Prof. Tom Ojienda, Senators Karungo Thangwa, William Kisang, Tabitha Mutinda, Eddy Oketch, Ledama Olekina, and Miraj Abdillahi. Additionally, Senator Danson Mungatana attended the Tana River meeting as a friend of the Committee.