Governor Johnson Sakaja Informs The Senate That He Inherited Financial Crisis

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja told the Senate Public Accounts Committee that the financial administration of county affairs was in a mess when he took office and that he is working to fix it.

On Monday, February 27, Sakaja appeared before the committee in Nairobi presided over by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang. Sakaja said that the county administration was in a free fall when he took over and that they have been able to collect Sh922 million in income during his time in office.

The State House Comptroller, he claimed, served as Nairobi Metropolitan Services’ accounting officer and was best qualified to explain how Sh43 billion was allotted for city administration following the transfer of vital services to the organization established by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Since some of the documents needed to respond to audit questions are in the possession of the State House Comptroller, who served as the accounting officer for the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, Sakaja said, “Let me be very honest with this committee that it would be impossible for me to avail myself of those documents.”

The Nairobi Governor stated that his administration is doing everything necessary to make sure that the transfer of the assets and liabilities from the Nairobi Metropolitan Services to his administration is still under consideration.

Sakaja claimed that President William Ruto had been very helpful in putting the county administration on the correct track and that his office was in a better position to provide specifics about how the city’s finances were being managed by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.

Kajwang stated that he was concerned Sakaja might tell the committee that it would not be possible that no matter how many times he would be asked to provide documentation for financial expenditures, they could not be available and that if such a mindset was adopted by other counties, it would affect oversight.

The committee’s chair stated that anytime it was necessary, like as in the current scenario involving Nairobi County, the committee would not hesitate to exercise the constitutional authority granted to the Senate to seek out documents that would help resolve audit questions.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna questioned why Sakaja had not stated right away that obtaining the financial data required by the auditor general and the committee was impossible since without them, little could be done in terms of providing answers to questions.

Senator Samson Cherargey of Nandi stated that it was evident that the assets and liabilities of the NMS were not properly transferred to the Sakaja administration and that the previous administration needed to be held accountable for the overspending of the Sh 43 billion allotted for the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka stated that the committee would discuss whether to call former NMS Director General Mohammed Badi to testify about how money allotted to the county was spent while he was in charge of managing vital services.