Senator Onyonka demands answers over withdrawal of Sh1.3 trillion by State

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka now wants the government to explain the unauthorized withdrawal of Sh 1.3 trillion from the National Treasury between July 12, 2024 and February 20, 2025.

The senator who sought a statement from the Senate Finance Committee regarding said the funds were withdrawn by the National and County Governments from the exchequer manually, through unauthorized withdrawals from the National Treasury bypassing automated financial management system meant to ensure transparency and accountability in public finance management.

The Senator who was speaking before the Senate plenary said the matter calls for serious questions regarding compliance with Public Finance Act, appropriateness of the oversight bodies and risk of financial mismanagement and it was important that the Senate seeks to get some clarification.

“The Senate should get some clarification on the legal and propriety of manual withdrawals and whether they were in accordance with the provisions of the Finance Management Act, 2012,” said Onyonka.

The Senator is seeking to have the house informed of precise destinations and recipients of the withdrawn funds, including the ministries, departments, agencies, and counties they ended up in.

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He wants the Senate to be told of the role the Controller of Budget played in sanctioning the transactions and whether due process was followed in the pursuit of financial accountability.

 Onyonka wants the Senate to be informed of the efforts made to prevent such withdrawals in the future and ensure total automation of the exchequer process.

“I would like the Senate to be told of the impact of such withdrawals on the country's budget, public debt, and allocations in counties,” said Onyonka.

National Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo in a press release issued stated that until the end of 2024 financial year the exchequer requests and withdrawals were processed manually as the system had not yet been automated.

Kiptoo stated that all withdrawals followed strict legal and financial procedures and every transaction subjected to review and approval by the Controller of Budget ensuring full compliance with public finance regulations.

He said that in July last year the National Treasury in collaboration with the Central Bank and the Controller of Budget launched a major reform initiative to automate exchequer process with the initiative designed to improve efficiency, accountability and strengthen financial oversight.

“As part of this reforms all National Government Ministries, Departments and agencies have been successfully on boarded onto the automated system ensuring that exchequer requests and approvals by the Controller of Budget are now processed digitally,” said Kiptoo.

However, he said that certain transactions including debt payments, transfers to counties, the judiciary fund and the equalization fund were not included in the first phase of automation due to their distinct approval processes.

Kiptoo said the integration of these transactions into the automated system currently underway with full automation expected by the end of the year 2025 financial year.

 He affirmed that all exchequer withdrawals whether processed manually or electronically are subject to strict legal and financial oversight.

“Every transaction undergoes due diligence and approval by the Controller of Budget ensuring full compliance with public finance regulations, at no point has public money been lost or misappropriated through this process,” said Kiptoo.

He said that once the treasury receives the official report from the Controller of Budget a comprehensive response will provided to address any further concerns.