By The Weekly Vision
State and public servants accused of defrauding taxpayers through the misuse of daily subsistence allowances and imprest payments have come under scrutiny by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly. MPs were scrutinising the State Department of Shipping and Maritime Affairs’s financial accounts for the year ending June 30th, 2022, when they made the shocking discovery.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly identified significant discrepancies in payment vouchers and the accuracy of the imprest register. Analysis of the payments made for the recurrent cashbook showed imprests paid to staff totalling billions of shillings in respect of domestic travel and allowances, according to the parliamentary committee, which was scrutinising audited reports of the corporation.
According to Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, the amount paid suggests that officers were in the field for more days than their work schedules could realistically accommodate. For instance, the legitimacy of the Ksh 28 million paid as allowances to the staff of the corporation could not be ascertained.
“The situation is the same in many state agencies,” said committee acting chairman Tindi Mwale, a fact that was supported by the auditor and the principal secretary for shipping and maritime affairs, Geoffrey Kaituko. “This report covers the entire financial year and clearly shows that the payments made to the officers exceeded the actual number of days they worked,” stated Kaituko.
“This suggests they were paid for more days than they actually served, possibly amounting to more than a year’s worth of payments,” admitted the PS. Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo pressed for clarity, asking, “Are you agreeing with the Auditor General’s findings? It seems your response contradicts the Auditor General’s statement—would you like to correct it?”
“In very polite terms, the Auditor General is essentially stating that these claims were fraudulent. When they mention that the number of days claimed exceeds what was possible, they are indicating fraud. Aren’t we seeing fraud here?” added Amollo. Kaituko responded, “Maybe we will need to get the vouchers themselves, not just the samples here. We likely need a week to gather that information and present it to the committee.”
Kaituko clarified that the Ksh 28 million in question was related to daily subsistence allowances and standing imprest payments. He explained that Ksh 14.2 million was issued to officers conducting various activities across counties in the maritime domain. “Ksh 11.7 million was paid to officers carrying out field activities, while Ksh 2.1 million was allocated for tea and other office operations,” the PS explained.
