The National Assembly has raised red flags over how the Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board is spending millions meant for community awareness campaigns, demanding proof that the funds are actually reaching grassroots programmes and not being absorbed into unclear expenditure lines.
The Departmental Committee on Social Protection on Wednesday questioned the Board over its use of public funds for anti-FGM programmes, saying the reports presented did not clearly show how the money was being spent at community level.
Appearing before the committee at Bunge Tower, the Board’s Chief Executive Officer Bernadette Loloju and senior officials defended ongoing interventions, including the “My Dear Daughter” campaign, county sensitisation forums, and the reactivation of anti-FGM steering committees in several counties.
The CEO told the committee that the national launch of the “My Dear Daughter” campaign held in Narok and Kajiado cost about Sh2.169 million and reached more than 500 mothers while also engaging community leaders in awareness efforts.
However, lawmakers questioned the lack of detailed breakdowns linking expenditure to specific activities, saying the figures provided were too general to justify public spending.
“Can we know how much money you spent on those campaigns? The chairperson asked
Committee members said the financial report amounted to what they termed as “lumped budgeting,” arguing that it did not clearly separate costs per activity, number of participants, or specific programme outputs.
Attention then turned to a supplementary allocation of Sh100 million, with MPs seeking clarity on how the funds were utilised within a short period and whether they were fully directed to approved programme priorities.
“During the supplementary budget, we gave the FGM Board 50 million and the ministry itself gave them another 50 million Kenya shillings,” Hon. Alice Ng’ang’a said
The Board said the funds had been incorporated into its work plan, with about half used for programme implementation while the rest went into administrative needs.
“We gave money for programmes, not maintenance. Yet now you are saying 50 per cent went to vehicles and office upkeep. That is not what Parliament approved,” the Chairperson stated.
The committee further questioned spending of Sh12.596 million used to revive county and sub-county anti-FGM steering committees across Nyamira, Tharaka Nithi, Marsabit, Isiolo, Taita Taveta and other counties.
MPs also sought clarity on how the committees were formed and whether key local leaders, including elected representatives, were fully involved in the engagements.
The chairperson raised concern after it emerged that a woman representative had been left out of some county-level meetings.
“How do you go to a county and leave the elected woman representative out of a meeting on FGM?” she asked
In response, the CEO said the steering committees operate under a policy framework that brings together county commissioners and departmental heads in implementation of programmes.
The National Assembly committee directed the Board to return in the next sitting with a full breakdown of expenditure, including detailed activity reports, participant lists, and photographic evidence to confirm that the campaigns and county engagements were actually carried out at grassroots level.