EVIDENCE OF LOOTING THE BUDGET:
GOK admits 89.9 B pending Bills Fraud

The best indicator of the magnitude of fraudulent dealings in public works is the astounding finding, by a Government probe body, that 99% of the nearly Ksh 90 billion worth of claims lodged in respect of development vote works are “not payable.”

The Permanent Secretary for Finance Joseph Kinyua has published a statement on 2 reports submitted to the President by the Pending Bills Committee headed by a former Controller and Auditor General, Mr. D.G. Njoroge. Both reports have yet to be made public, though Mr. Kinyua reports that the first
evaluates pending bills which pre-date January 27th 2006, while the second concerns pending bills after that date.

The Committee reviewed both recurrent and development budgets and accounts, but it is clear that the development budget comes off far worse as can be seen from Mr. Kinyua’s statement.

There are 78 cases identified which involve “corruption, false claims, deliberate overpayments and attempts to defraud the Government.”  Mr. Njoroge’s Committee also “recommends that the Government takes action to recover” over Ksh 2.5 billion from unnamed cowboy contractors.  Whether any action will be taken is another matter.