The Embu County Assembly has passed a motion directing the County Government to recover Ksh10.1 million irregularly withdrawn from the County Industrial Aggregation Park (CAIP) account, following a critical report by its Public Accounts Committee.
The report, unanimously adopted by Members of the County Assembly, found that Ksh10,167,300 was withdrawn from a Special Purpose Account without proper authorization, documentation, or accountability. The funds were neither refunded nor supported by records to justify their use.
Recovery Directive and Legal Implications
In a motion moved by Deputy Speaker Ibrahim Swaleh, the Assembly resolved that the County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Finance and Economic Planning, Prof Joe Kamaria, must ensure full recovery of the funds within 90 days.
The Assembly warned that failure to comply would result in personal surcharge under Article 226(5) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
The committee further established that the expenditure lacked any budgetary provision and was not regularised in accordance with Section 149(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, rendering the transaction unlawful. It also ruled out the classification of the amount as a pending bill.
Additional Audit Concerns
The Assembly also directed the County Treasury to recover Ksh21.7 million in outstanding imprests within 30 days. This follows findings by the Office of the Auditor General that imprests issued between July 2023 and June 2025 had neither been surrendered nor accounted for, contrary to public finance regulations requiring accountability within seven working days.
The report highlighted irregular practices, including officers holding multiple imprests simultaneously without surrendering previous allocations, in violation of Regulation 93(4)(b) of the Public Finance Management (County Governments) Regulations, 2015.
Documentation Gaps and Discrepancies
Further scrutiny of the CAIP project revealed significant documentation gaps. The Assembly ordered Prof Kamaria to reconstruct and reconcile all records related to the Ksh500 million project and submit them for audit, failing which he may face liability under Section 53 of the Public Audit Act.
Audit findings exposed inconsistencies in financial reporting, with the Embu County Revenue Fund reflecting receipts of Ksh186 million from the CAIP account, while bank statements indicated withdrawals and transfers exceeding Ksh219.5 million over the same period.
Key procurement and financial documents including tender records, payment vouchers, and project files were not availed for audit. County officials attributed the missing records to a fire allegedly linked to the 2024 Gen Z protests in Embu Town. However, the committee noted that no evidence was provided to substantiate the claim or demonstrate efforts to reconstruct the documents.
Pressure Mounts on County Executive
The Assembly’s resolutions place significant pressure on the County Executive to enforce financial accountability and restore public confidence in the management of public funds.
The findings add to growing scrutiny of county-level financial governance, particularly in large-scale infrastructure and industrial projects intended to drive economic growth.
