Auditor General’s report on Wednesday, November 23, unearthed a Ksh700 million scam that was allegedly staged by Nairobi City County Alcoholic Drinks Control Licensing Board.
In the report, the Auditor General noted that the board could not account for more than Sh700 million expenditure.
The audit findings presented to the Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed that some of the receipts that were for scrutiny were technically fake.
“In the circumstances, the accuracy, completeness, and validity of the receipts and payments of Ksh427.2 million and Ksh277.3 million could not be confirmed,” read the report.
Nairobi MCAs were told that the liquor board failed to provide supporting documents including receipt books, cash books, ledgers, payment vouchers and supporting schedules for payment totaling Ksh707.5 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020.
Nairobi County Assembly PAC Deputy Chairperson Robert Alai noted that the committee will summon the officials of the board for an explanation next week.
Nairobi County’s new administration has threatened to institute legal action against board members, should they fail to obey summons.
“There is nobody who knows how they spent close to Ksh300 million because there are no supporting documents to support the expenditure.
“We will engage the board next week to ensure they have accounted for everything,” Alai noted.
Alai wondered why the liquor board was allowed to raise its own money and spend it without proper mechanisms.
“Nobody knows how this money was spent because there are no receipts and records.
“We have had challenges with this institution from the licensing of bars and the way they collect the licensing fees. We expect them to get an explanation and the documents next week,” he wondered.
It was also revealed that the liquor board submitted financial statements in June 2022, which is more than one year and eight months after the statutory deadline of September 30, 2020.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE