Senate orders audit of Sh5 billion Covid funds

The Auditor-General and the Controller of Budget have one month to conduct a forensic audit on the use of Sh5 billion that the Treasury released to counties to fight Covid-19 pandemic.

“The report should cover the period from March 13, when the first Covid-19 case in Kenya was recorded, to July 31,” Jeremiah Nyegenye, the clerk of the Senate wrote to the two offices.

Parliament wants Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu to institute a special audit and report findings by September 4.

The Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has three weeks to furnish the Senate with her special Covid-19 budget review report.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in May directed that all the 47 counties share Sh5 billion in additional conditional grants from the national government.

Counties were to use the money to set up least 300-bed isolation centres to deal with the surging coronavirus cases.

The money was meant to increase county governments’ healthcare capacity to cope with the pandemic.

The forensic audit is likely to shine a spotlight on governors’ spending of millions of shillings in the procurement of goods and services.

Senators want Auditor-General to review and establish whether the county governments had approved work plans, procurement plans, and training plans in place specific to Covid-19 activities.