Controller of Budget raises concerns over Kisumu revenue system

Controller of Budget, FCPA Dr Margaret Nyakang’o, has raised concerns over the structure of the Kisumu County Revenue Board and the integration of its revenue management system with the county’s accounting system.

Nyakang’o said better integration of the systems would help reduce the risk of revenue leakages and improve the management of county funds.

She was speaking in Kisumu during an annual monitoring and evaluation exercise involving county governments and assemblies to assess budget implementation and follow up on issues raised in quarterly reports by the Controller of Budget’s office.

Questions were also raised over the possible loss of Sh40 million through loopholes in the county’s revenue management system, prompting Assembly oversight committees to launch an investigation into more than Sh40 million in unremitted revenue.

Nyakang’o said her office had not established that any money was missing.

“The exercise has just started and we’ll be finding out if indeed the revenue was lost,” she said.

She also said the structure of the Kisumu County Revenue Board needed to be addressed to strengthen revenue collection and management.

Report discrepancies
The county government was questioned over its failure to submit a monitoring and evaluation report to the Controller of Budget’s office and to acknowledge receipt of a letter from the office.

Nyakang’o said county-level data should be verified and agreed upon before being submitted to her office for consolidation.

Her remarks followed concerns over an alleged error in a report in which Sh 300 million was reportedly attributed to the county assembly, although its budget for the item was about Sh 20 million.

Nyakang’o said she had not seen the specific error but that measures would be put in place to prevent similar discrepancies.

“We should not wait until the figures have gone to the main report and have been posted online for us to realise that there was a mistake,” she said.

She said her officers would ensure county-level data was checked before being submitted to the Controller of Budget’s headquarters.

Salaries and pending bills

The meeting also considered delays in approving county budgets and their impact on salary payments.

Nyakang’o said Kisumu’s budget had been submitted late even though funds were available in the county’s account.

She said salaries could not be paid without an approved budget but payments could now proceed because the budget was in place.

Nyakang’o urged the county to submit future budgets within the timelines prescribed by law.

On pending bills, she said counties were required to maintain comprehensive schedules of outstanding obligations and prepare plans for settling them.

Her office checks payment requisitions against those plans before approving them, she said.

Nyakang’o also said the National Treasury was integrating requisitions approved by her office with the government’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS).

The move was intended to prevent approved payment requisitions from being replaced by others when counties make payments, she said.

The Kisumu monitoring exercise is expected to continue for about 10 days, followed by an exit meeting.

Kisumu Deputy Governor Mathew Owili has hosted Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o and a delegation from the Office of the Controller of Budget.

The team has been in Kisumu since 14 September for a two-week monitoring and evaluation exercise on the county’s finances.

The review will assess the release and use of funds, including Operations and Maintenance allocations, the settlement of pending bills and the establishment and operation of the County Assembly Fund.

The team will also assess the implementation of recommendations from previous budget monitoring exercises.

Speaking during the meeting at City Hall, Dr Owili said the county was committed to supporting the exercise by providing the required documentation.

“Kisumu County remains fully committed to providing the necessary support and documentation to facilitate this important exercise,” he said.

He added that the county would continue to uphold transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

The meeting was also attended by county executive committee members and senior officials from the county executive and assembly.