Senate orders EACC to probe Sh1.6b Embu ‘manufactured’ bills
A Senate watchdog committee has asked the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to pitch tent in Embu and conduct investigations into more than Sh1.6 billion worth of “manufactured” pending bills.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee wants former Embu Governor Martin Wambora investigated for failure by his administration to remit staff statutory deductions amounting to more than Sh532 million.
The damning revelations emerged during audit queries on the Embu County Executive for the year ending June 30, in which the former administration declared a Sh2.3 billion pending bills portfolio only for an audit to find eligible pending bills worth only Sh705 million.
Appearing before the Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ led committee, Governor Cecily Mbarire said that she inherited pending bills amounting to Sh2.359 billion.
However, when she assumed office, the former Runyenjes lawmaker turned governor said her administration paid Sh529 million of the bills including Kenya Medical Supplies Authority debt, and staff deductions bringing the bills down to Sh1.659 billion. Out of the remainder, Sh705.2 million, representing 42.49 per cent, were eligible for settlement while the ineligible amounted to Sh954.38 million.
She told the Senators that having received two reports on pending bills, she established a taskforce to audit the pending bills amount declared in the handover report, adding that they even found other claims outside those captured in the report by the assumption of governor’s office committee
However, a verification by a pending bills verification committee found that only Sh705.2 million worth of the outstanding bills to be eligible.
