A tangled web of unpaid loans, borrowed pension funds, and alleged legal breaches put the West Pokot County Assembly on the defensive as senators launched a hard-hitting probe, demanding documents, accountability, and strict adherence to the law.
Appearing before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee, the county assembly was led by County Clerk Ngiroh Leo and Speaker of the Assembly Frederick Kaptui in relation to audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor General for the 2023-2024 financial year.
The Senate committee affirmed that the bills the county had incurred for the Members' Car Loan and Mortgage Fund were not fully explained, lacking evidence, when the assembly tabled the report.
The clerk, Ngiro, confirmed to the senators, "It's true that we are owed Sh15,442,300 in the Members Car Loan and Mortgage fund, and we can confirm to this committee that indeed we've budgeted for that amount, and we are going to pay."
Nandi Senator and committee sessional chairperson Samson Cherargei demanded that the county assembly confirm with evidence attached to the submitted report during the committee.
"Where is the proof of this budget of Sh15.4 million you're saying is budgeted for?" Is there an annexure?" Cherargei questioned.
Kitui Senator Wambua Enoch questioned the reason for budgets without evidence: "This money that was given in advance to members’ car loans and mortgages? So I thought the repayments were to come from the repayment? What is this money budgeted for?"
The OAG: "If I may make it clear, there were funds in the car loan and mortgage—some funds which were transferred there—, but there came an issue from KRA where they were supposed to pay some penalties to KRA. The assembly borrowed the funds from the mortgage fund to pay for penalties."
Senator Cherargei further asked, "What was the reason the statutory deductions arose? Or was it about delayed disbursement?"
Ngiro told senators, "There were no penalties; it was a result of tax reconciliation over the years from 2014 to 2022, which was supposed to be paid. The only way we could do that was to borrow funds from this scheme because all the members had benefited, and that was the only way to get a reprieve to clear the tax arrears."
It was observed that the Assembly breached the law by failing to comply with statutory requirements on ethnic composition, an issue acknowledged by the Speaker of the Assembly.
"Our main argument when we were here was about ethnic composition. We did a recruitment for the position of internal auditors, and the last time we were told to supply the list of the applicants, which we did to the Senate so that they could determine. We are from West Pokot County and the West Pokot communities; the position was not applied for by people from outside the community," he said.
Nyamira County Senator and Parliamentary Service Commission member Okong’o Omogeni advised the assembly to consistently share recruitment advertisements, longlists, and shortlists as evidence of compliance with the law, noting that such transparency would help the Senate objectively assess and address concerns over ethnic disparity.
Senator Wambua, on his path, told the assembly to stick to the commitment, reminding the speaker that the law is firm and he should stick to the commitment in the future.
The report tabled revealed that the West Pokot County Assembly has 100 staff members on permanent and pensionable terms.
However, the oversight bosses were taken by surprise when the Speaker disclosed that one staff member who was due for retirement later presented documentation from the Disability Council, declaring a disability status, prompting the assembly to extend the individual’s contract.
Cherargei remarked that the cases of disabilities where people are applying for extensions have been on the rise, hindering the law from taking its course.
The vocal senator Cherargei consistently urged the county assembly leadership to abide by the law to avoid legal violations.
