The Auditor General’s report has revealed how counties have misused Ksh11.12 billion allocated for scholarships and bursaries.
The financial year 2023/2024 report released by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu reveals that out of Ksh11.12 billion allocated to counties for scholarships and bursaries, only Ksh9.8 billion was spent, leaving an unspent balance of Ksh1.3 billion.
The report listed the seven affected counties with bursary irregularities; they include Nakuru County with Ksh382.9 million, Nairobi County with Ksh301.4 million, Kakamega County with Ksh128.9 million, and Garissa with Ksh5.3 million. Others include Taita Taveta and Isiolo County, with irregularities amounting to Ksh24 million.
The seven (7) Counties failed to provide supporting documents for bursary allocations and acknowledgements amounting to Ksh886,757,332.
The report indicated that Narok County had reported Ksh886,000 to have been used for imprests and other unrelated expenses.
In Kiambu County, bursary cheques amounting to Ksh 1 million remained uncollected for extended periods, becoming stale and unused by the intended beneficiaries.
The report also stated that Kiambu overspent its allocation by Ksh92.9 million, Mandera County overspent its allocation by Ksh44.9 million, and Kericho overspent by Ksh16.5 million, all of which raises questions about their budget management.
On the contrary, Migori had the largest unspent balance of Ksh 1 billion, followed by Wajir County with an unspent balance of Ksh 78.3 million and Tana River County with an unspent balance of Ksh 61.3 million, indicating potential inefficiencies or misallocation of funds.
The audit revealed that three counties reported inconsistencies between different financial records with unreconciled variances.
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The report indicates that West Pokot County has an unreconciled amount of Ksh 8 million, as the statement of financial performance recorded an amount of Ksh 608 million, while the statement of comparison between budget and actual amounts reported an amount of Ksh 600 million.
The Nairobi County audit report raised concerns over Ksh3.7 million that the Bursary and Scholarship Applications and Vetting committee had recommended be allocated to some applicants for the executive scholarship. However, the said applicants could not be traced.
The auditor general also raised questions in Lamu County, where she expressed concern over Ksh126.9 million in respect to scholarships and other educational benefits paid as a grant transfer for the issuance of bursaries and scholarships, to fund other academic activities in the county.
In Migori County, the auditor questioned the transfer of Ksh120 million to the ward development fund for bursaries.
Kitui County government was also questioned over Ksh84 million spent on bursaries for student beneficiaries in secondary schools, universities, tertiary institutions, and special education institutions, which fall under the national government’s functions.
Elgeyo Marakwet County allocated Ksh 14.5 million to Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) as fees for nursing students in various colleges. However, records indicated that the county had an existing education fund meant to issue bursaries to students.
The report indicated that the KMTC students were also sponsored under the County Bursary Fund.
By Obegi Malack
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