Machakos MCAs follow keenly on an Assembly in session. Photo Assembly collection. 
By Andrew Mbuva
A report tabled before the Machakos County Assembly by the Public Accounts and Investments Committee (PAC) has exposed glaring weaknesses in the financial management of the County Assembly for the financial year ending June 30, 2022.
The Committee, chaired by Hon. Philip Ndolo, raised critical red flags on expenditure discrepancies, misuse of funds, underperformance in budget execution, and alarming pending bills, recommending urgent reforms.
The report, derived from the Auditor General's findings, revealed variances between the financial statements submitted and the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), unsupported expenditures, unreconciled PAYE returns, and misstatements in exchequer receipts.
The Committee flagged the Assembly’s failure to use IFMIS in preparing financial statements due to internal technical challenges, undermining transparency and accuracy. “IFMIS promotes uniformity and reliability. Not using it raises the risk of misreporting and irregularities,” noted the Committee.
Further, Kshs. 3.5 million in hospitality and training expenses lacked adequate supporting documents. Although the documents were later availed during interrogations, PAC emphasized that they were not presented to auditors as required, undermining oversight processes.
Late disbursement of funds from the National Treasury also led to misstatements of Kshs.31 million in exchequer receipts, a problem PAC recognized as systemic and affecting many counties across Kenya.
The Assembly also struggled with payroll discrepancies, particularly in PAYE returns, due to unintegrated payroll systems. This lack of synchronization resulted in conflicting figures filed with the Kenya Revenue Authority and those captured in payment vouchers.
Budgetary control issues were also evident. The report noted that despite a Kshs.1.36 billion approved budget, only Kshs.1.06 billion was utilized, translating to an under-expenditure of 22%. Development spending suffered the most, with a low absorption rate of just 29%.
Of significant concern was the revelation that pending bills stood at over Kshs.120 million, with some dating back to the 2013/2014 financial year. PAC warned that such delays could attract legal suits, interest charges, and damage the Assembly’s credibility.
Some of the recommendations made by the Committee in an effort to address these shortcomings full adoption of the IFMIS system, Immediate integration of the IPPD (Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database) and Excel systems to eliminate discrepancies in payroll reporting.
The Committee also called for submissions of all previously unavailable expenditure documentation to the Auditor General for verification.
The Assembly was urged to prioritize clearing the Kshs.120 million backlog of pending bills and avoid exposing itself to legal action.
The Assembly will convene on Tuesday next week to debate and adopt the report.
