NDMA On the Spot Over Unaccounted 4.3 Billion Shillings Drought Funds

A total of 4.3 billion shillings disbursed by the government to address drought in several parts of the country cannot be accounted for by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA).

The billions were meant to be spent on food and cash transfer programmes in the drought-hit parts but according to the Auditor General’s report for the year ending June 2017, his office could not conclusively pen down the spending accuracy of the 4.3 billion shillings the authority received.

The Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) received 2.3 billion shillings that were to be distributed to the affected communities and families.

“We cannot confirm the beneficiaries of the money or the criteria used to identify who should receive them as well as the rates that were used for the payments,” said the AG, Edward Ouko.

He also stated that the 2.3 billion shillings that went to the HSNP, which included payments to some beneficiaries were not documented and the method used to identify the beneficiaries was unclear, something which, as Ouko noted, translated to doubts on the validity of the expense.

The rest of the money, 2 billion shillings that the body received on behalf of the National Drought Emergency Fund (NDEF), the AG stated that it is unclear where the money went.

According to Ouko, the management is in violation of the National Management Drought Act, 2016 whose provisions govern the maintenance and operations of the fund.

Part of the report read that the fund should be independent, managed and operated by NDMA chief executive, who is responsible for the preparation and presentation of the financial statements of the fund for audit each fiscal year. “However, no financial statements of the funds have been prepared and submitted for audit,” the report read.

NDMA is also on the spot regarding other expenditures like the ones for drought contingencies fund, unutilized balances from counties fund, and unsupported expenditures.

The 719.1 billion shillings on drought contingencies fund expenditure, which was spent on several acquisition activities could not be accounted for a lack of the necessary documentation.

“Funds worth 435.9 million shillings from the fund lack certainty as the basis for requisition of disbursement by the various county officers has not been supported by any documentation,” Ouko said.

Regarding unutilized balances, there is no appropriate documentation to support the accuracy and completeness of how respective county offices spent the money or how much they had at the end of any financial year.