By The Weekly Vision
Some of the former members of the Nairobi City County Assembly (MCAs) and a former Speaker who failed to recapture their seats in the last elections are alleged to have left behind unpaid loans running into millions of shillings owed to the County Mortgage Scheme.
Investigations reveal that the MCAs left behind Ksh. 248m in unpaid car grants. The Speaker and 122 Members of the County Assembly each left with Ksh.4m and Ksh.2m of unpaid loans respectively. It has also been discovered that the outstanding balance of Ksh. 51, 029,038 against the Member’s loan accounts as of 30th March 2021 were not recovered.
It is not known why the loans were not recovered from both the speaker and the MCAs but sources say some MCAs who did not win back the seats could have left unpaid loans. Further, Pay As You Earn Tax chargeable on the grant amount of Ksh. 248m at the rate of 30% amounting to Ksh. 74,400,000 was not recovered and remitted to Kenya Revenue Authority per the provisions of the Income Tax Act (Cap 470) thus exposing the Fund to additional taxes and penalties.
In the circumstances, the Fund Management was in breach of the law. Investigations also revealed that the fund administration expense balance of Ksh. 16,983,000 out of which Ksh. 11,419,822 were domestic travel and daily subsistence allowances and sitting allowances in respect of retreats for the Loans Management Committee.
However, the imprest surrender vouchers, committee meeting minutes and approved list of committee members in support of the balance could not be traced to justify the expenditure. In the circumstances, the propriety and accuracy of the fund administration expenses balance of Ksh. 11,419,822 cannot be confirmed.
