The Auditor General has raised concerns regarding the operation of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s flagship project, the school feeding programme dubbed Dishi na County. In the 2023/2024 audit report tabled before the County Assembly, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu revealed that her office could not account for Ksh 145,725,000 donated by the French Embassy in Kenya to support the programme.
In September 2023, French Minister of State for Development, Dr Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, announced the donation while joining Governor Sakaja to feed children at Olympic Primary School, Kibra. However, according to the report, the funds were deposited directly into the account of Food for Education, a non-profit organisation partnering with the county to implement the initiative.
“The audit could not ascertain the accountability of these funds. Additionally, the County Executive had not put in place any measures for managing donations received, as there were no established guidelines for handling such funds,” the report states.
Furthermore, the report highlights that there was no formal agreement or memorandum of understanding between the county and Food for Education.
“The audit could not establish how the organisation was engaged to provide the services,” it adds.
The county contracted the organisation to provide meals to school-going children in Nairobi’s public schools at a rate of Ksh 25 per plate.
According to the report, Food for Education invoiced a total of Ksh 345,961,676 at the agreed rate of Ksh 25 per plate. During the 2023/2024 financial year, the county paid Ksh 262,262,167.
Each student is required to contribute Ksh 5 per meal directly to the company, with the county covering the remaining Ksh 20 to bring the total to Ksh 25 per plate. However, the Auditor General found that despite the parents’ contributions, the county still paid the company Ksh 25 per plate instead of Ksh 20, raising further concerns over the contract.
“The county paid Ksh 25 per plate served, resulting in the implementer earning Ksh 30 per plate instead of the contracted Ksh 25,” the report states.
This revelation follows similar concerns raised last year by the County Health Committee when Health County Executive Committee Member Susan Silantoi appeared before them alongside Food for Education CEO Wawira Njiru. They were unable to clarify how donations were being managed.
Silantoi assured the committee that the executive would present a policy framework outlining how the initiative was being implemented, but this has yet to be tabled.
The committee, chaired by Mountain View MCA Maurice Ochieng, also criticised Governor Sakaja for the lack of regulations governing the programme’s implementation.
