A Senate watchdog committee has cast doubt on the quality of the financial statements prepared by the County Government of Nandi for the 2024/25 financial year, saying they fall below the required standards and were not prepared in accordance with applicable public sector financial reporting standards.
The County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has consequently directed Governor Stephen Sang to take administrative action against officers responsible for the preparation of the financial statements, citing professional negligence and failure to discharge their duties.
The Committee reached the decision after discrediting the financial statements of the Nandi County Executive for the financial year ending June 30, 2025, stating that they had been incorrectly prepared and failed to disclose material information relating to revenue, expenditure and liabilities.
It told the Governor that the financial statements did not present a true and fair view of the county’s financial position, owing to the non-disclosure of material information that compromised the integrity and reliability of the county’s financial reporting.
In its audit report, the Office of the Auditor-General flagged several inaccuracies, noting that the county had failed to disclose opening bank balances at the beginning of the financial year, outstanding employee and supplier payables, and the true status of the county’s debt, including an age analysis of the outstanding liabilities.
The county also failed to properly disclose funds held in bank accounts.
And even the Governor insisted they had cleared part of the debt, he did not avail any document to support the claim, indicating the beneficiaries and amounts that had been paid.
“This Statement does not provide a true and fair view of the Nandi County Executive,” declared Senator Moses Kajwang’, as he accused the Governor and his team of treating the Senate casually.
“Your responses to the issues raised by the Office of the Auditor-General do not make sense. After reviewing the financial statements, this Committee has serious doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the figures presented.”
Why Nandi County report was rejected by Senate
Of particular concern to the Committee was the county’s failure to disclose material information relating to expenditure amounting to approximately Sh1 billion during the financial year ending June 30, 2025.
The audit further established an unexplained variance of Sh278 million in trade and other payables, which the Governor and his team were unable to reconcile or explain satisfactorily.
Similarly, while the Statement of Financial Position reflected a nil balance for refundable deposits and prepayments, the supporting schedules submitted for audit revealed an unreconciled variance of Sh62.9 million.
The money was to be ringfenced and retained in the County Revenue Fund but it was not. The Governor said he had expended the money but could not explain on which project and the money could not be traced even when the Governor and his team were pressed hard by the Committee.
The county also reported that it had no outstanding obligations to employees. However, the Governor contradicted that position during the Committee’s proceedings, effectively rejecting the information contained in the financial statements.
“We cannot make headway in these proceedings if the Governor and his team keep poking holes in their own figures,” said Senator Kajwang’.
“You have discredited your own financial statements because they were incorrectly prepared.”
Nandi Senator Samson Cherarkey said the inaccurate financial statements amounted to professional negligence, adding that the county had breached public financial reporting requirements by failing to disclose material information.
“The absence of a schedule of pending bills presents a dilemma because we cannot determine who was paid, who remains unpaid, or the amounts involved,” he said, while calling for firm administrative action against the officers responsible for preparing the financial statements.
The Senator further noted that the county had failed to submit to the Committee a register of all retained funds, raising doubts about its claim that the money remained in retention accounts.
“There is no list of the beneficiaries owed the Sh62.9 million. The money cannot be traced and, even during the audit, the list was never provided. I am constrained to conclude that the money was stolen,” he said.
While the Governor maintained that the Controller of Budget had approved the withdrawal of the Sh62.9 million following a requisition by the county, Senator Johnes Mwaruma, the vice chair of the committee, advised the county to trace the funds and pay the beneficiaries.
He warned that once the Controller of Budget approves a withdrawal, a second approval cannot be sought for the same expenditure.
