Kenyans have been waking up into new scandals day in day out! What started as loss of Eurobond came to NYS scandals, Kenya Pipeline Corporation, Kenya power and lightening, Rift Valley dams construction, just to mention but a few. Amidst probe in the loss of the funds meant for dams construction, the Women Enterprise Fund is on the spot over loss of Sh45.8 million through what an audit shows is embezzlement by employees.
Auditor-General Edward Ouko says Sh24.6 million was due from 19 constituencies but that it been misappropriated by staff in the year to June, 2018.
He said a further Sh21,170,00 due from 20 constituencies was misappropriated by employees in the previous financial years. Mr Ouko said the amount includes Sh3.1 million and Sh6.3 million due from Kwanza Constituency and Kisumu County respectively, which were misappropriated by employees in the 2015/16 financial year.
“No provision had however, been made in the financial statements in respect of the above losses nor any recoveries made as at June 30, 2018,” Mr Ouko said in a qualified audit opinion tabled in Parliament by Leader of majority Aden Duale.
The fund was established by President Mwai Kibaki in 2007 to provide accessible and affordable credit to women to start and expand business for wealth and employment- creation.
Mr Ouko further raised the red flag over non-performing loans worth Sh106,618,100 due from financial intermediary partners.
“Any provision that would have been necessary in relation to this had not been incorporated in the financial statements,” Mr Ouko said.
He also questioned Sh7.4 million loans relating to local purchase order (LPO) financing which were due and not paid as at June 30, 2017 and Constituency Women Enterprise Schemes (CWEs) of Sh65.1 million with no payments recorded during the year under review.
“Recoverability of these loans is doubtful since they have been in arrears for periods that are longer than the repayment periods stipulated in the loan agreements. “Although the recovery of these loan balances was clearly doubtful, no provision was made against them in the financial statements,” he said.
Mr Ouko cited the fund management for spending more than Sh3.6 million on remuneration of directors. He said the fund had a budgetary provision of Sh6,852,000 on remuneration of directors but spent Sh10,486,000 during the year 2016/17 on the item resulting in an over expenditure of Sh3,634,401 or 53 per cent.