Auditor General Confirms That A County Should Have 1-10 Accounts, Bungoma Has 352
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has urged counties to limit the number of bank accounts they use to track revenue and expenditures.
Gathungu criticized counties’ practice of managing multiple accounts, claiming that it complicates financial accountability.
The OAG testified before the Senate Committee on County Public Investment and Special Funds on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.
The Auditor General emphasized the need for counties to reduce the number of bank accounts they manage, stating that one or two accounts dedicated to revenue and expenditure would suffice.
She cautioned that the current practice of managing hundreds of accounts could result in a loss of control over funds, making it difficult to track where the money is going.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu: We should minimize bank accounts. A county should have one to ten accounts, 200-300 accounts don't make sense pic.twitter.com/VmbftskDgL
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 4, 2024
“We should minimize bank accounts. We need one or two revenue or expenditure accounts. We don’t need 300. First of all, you lose track of funds,” Gathungu said.
She also brought up the issue of fund duplication, in which similar funds exist at both the national and county levels, particularly in agriculture and education.
“You find funds in the country running operations of departments of counties,” she added.
“For instance, you find a fund for agriculture and have the department for agriculture. In short, you find duplication of funds at the national level and county level.”
She also brought up the issue of bursaries, pointing out that counties frequently issue bursaries to secondary school students, a role that she believes is managed nationally.
“I can’t say one or two bank accounts are enough, but having 200 to 300 accounts does not make sense,” Gathungu declared.
Gathungu’s remarks come after Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka confirmed 352 bank accounts for the county’s operations.
“Indeed, I reconfirm that we have 352 bank accounts being managed by my administration. Most of these accounts belong to vocational training centres, health facilities and dispensaries in the county,” Lusaka confirmed.
Lusaka clarified that Bungoma County’s bank accounts were opened transparently in accordance with legal requirements.
However, Bungoma Senator Wafula Wakoli has accused the county of opening these accounts fraudulently in order to siphon public funds.
To respond to these allegations, Lusaka appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations to address the audit queries.
The committee inquired about the identities of those who ran the accounts.
Lusaka stated that they are cooperating with the investigation, confident that the ongoing investigations by state agencies will clear his administration of any wrongdoing.
“We are in the process of complying with that request. Relevant investigative state agencies are carrying out their independent probes,” Lusaka stated.
“I’m certain I shall be vindicated when the detectives accomplish their work.”
Auditor General Confirms That A County Should Have 1-10 Accounts, Bungoma Has 352
