Auditor-General flags irregular payment of house allowances in Garissa county

The amount was paid in addition to the regular house allowance applicable to their job designation.

The management did not provide a satisfactory explanation for the payment of the special allowances at the time of the audit while the executive did not have an approved staff establishment in place.

As a result, the auditor general couldn't establish how the cadres and staff capacity in the various departments were determined and whether the executive was operating at optimal staffing levels.

The County Executive Committee Member for Finance, Abass Ismael, could not be reached to respond to issues raised as he did not answer our phone calls nor reply to our text messages.

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In her report, Ms Gathungu said lack of approved staff establishment may lead to under or overstaffing in Garissa.
The audit also established that Governor Nathif Jama led administration had non-conformity with the law on recruitment of persons living with disabilities.

A review of the payroll records in June 2024 showed there were 83 persons living with disabilities employed by the Garissa county government representing three percent against the county Human Resource Manual of 2018.

The manual stipulates that five percent of all appointments shall be for persons with disabilities.

The auditor-general also raised the gender imbalance in employment by the County Government.

The manual payroll with 668 staff members did not contain details on gender, ethnicity, and persons living with disability making it impossible for the auditor-general to determine the proportion of persons with disabilities.

The administration has also been flagged for irregularly engaging casual employees.

In the report, the auditor-general revealed the executive sent Sh36 million on casual employees’ wages.

“The review of the payroll records revealed that casual employees were engaged continuously for more than three months contrary to section 37 (1)(a) and (b) of the Employment Act, 2007,” she said.

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The county is further accused of non-compliance with one-third of the basic salary rule.

A review of the staff payroll revealed that 166 employees were receiving salaries that were less than one-third of their respective basic salaries.

At the same time, six employees who have reached mandatory retirement age are still in employment under unclear circumstances.

This was revealed by a review of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD).

The county executive has been processing salaries outside the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database.

“The county executive maintained a manual payroll in spreadsheets with 735 employees outside the IPPD,” she said.

The auditor-general observed that manual payroll systems can be susceptible to errors and irregularities such as ghost workers and unauthorized adjustments.

The management did not provide a satisfactory explanation as to why such a large number of employees were paid through manual payroll.

The Governor Jama administration has not been labelling county projects leading to loss of funds according to the Auditor General.

In the 2023/2024 financial year, five projects valued at Sh94 million were completed but not labeled despite provisions for branding of Sh50,000 in the Bill of Quantities.

At least 17 projects worth Sh504 million started in the financial year under review have since stalled and the contractors were not on site while eight other projects valued at Sh207 million started in previous financial years were completed but yet to be put in use.

The Auditor General questioned the incomplete equipping of the Baraki and Maalimin water pipeline.

The project initiated in the 2016/2017 financial year has gobbled up Sh200 million and remained incomplete.

The project may not achieve its objective according to the auditor-general since the main boreholes that form part of the project have a total yield of 66 cubic meters per hour while the collecting pipe can carry 22 cubic metres per hour with no storage at the collection centre.

The distance between the two substation tanks is 24 kilometres with the ground inclined upwards which may hamper water flow thereby putting in doubt the feasibility of the project.

Other incomplete projects are the construction of Garissa County Referral Hospital Medical records offices for Sh12 million, the construction of parking and fencing at Qorahey at Sh19 million, and the incomplete fencing of the Agricultural Training Center at Sh27 million.

Upgrading the bitumen standard of Bulla Madina-Dobal road at Sh39 million stalled under unclear circumstances according to the Auditor General.

Garissa County was found to be operating three bank accounts irregularly with the auditor-general questioning how the county paid Sh3 million to Frontier County Development Council. FCDC is not a public entity and the amount paid was an irregular charge to public funds.

While the county failed to publish and publicize procurement contracts required by law during the 2023/ 2024 financial year, Governor Jama spent Sh34 million to purchase relief foodstuffs for flood victims.

The management could not explain why donations could not be procured and managed by the existing Garissa County Emergency Fund.