The Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds has ordered the Office of the Auditor-General to do a forensic audit of Kericho County Bursary Fund and file a report within 60 days.
The Senate committee, which is led by Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, met with Kericho Governor Dr Erick Mutai to scrutinize the Auditor-General’s reports on three county funds from 2020 to 2022.
The accounts include Kericho County Bursary Fund, the Kericho County Alcoholic Drinks Control Fund, and the Kericho County Emergency Fund.
The committee highlighted concerns and issued a series of recommendations, stressing the need for stricter budgetary controls in all three funds, to be implemented by the governor via the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Finance.
Compliance will be reassessed in the next audit cycle.
The Senate also emphasized full adherence to Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (PSASB) reporting templates.
To address inaccuracies in financial statements, the Senate ordered that the county either trains existing staff, or recruits qualified finance and accounting professionals.
The Finance CECM is expected to ensure timely cooperation with audit processes, or risk investigation and prosecution.
Finally, the committee urged the governor to expedite amendments to the Kericho County Alcoholic Drinks Control Act of 2014 to ensure it aligns with national legislation.
Errors in bursary fund documentation necessitate the resubmission of accurate records within 14 days.
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