A report released by Auditor General, Edward Ouko for the last financial year has exposed the spending of over Shs.70m in unauthorized training by Nakuru County Assembly.
The report indicated that the circumstances were not clear as to why the Members of the County Assembly would choose the trainings overseas to be done when they could be offered locally.
The report has further revealed that MCAs spent Sh.53million on unnecessary domestic travel. Sh.9 million of the amount was spent on committee meetings held outside the Assembly despite the availability of space in the premises.
The report by Ouko further indicated that the county assembly lacked an Audit Committee which has thereby undermined its independence.
Every year the Auditor General’s report indicts the devolved units for their poor spending, however, the habit continues unabated.
The Chairman of a leading lobby Group in the County, Jesse Karanja, said the people of Nakuru were tired that millions of shillings was misused yet the services were wanting.
“This town faces a perennial water shortage, which has gotten worse since the MCAs started running the county, sometimes we become nostalgic of the municipalities, which we are beginning to realize were much better,’’ he said.
He added that for all the years the defunct municipality managed the area, cholera was unheard of but for the last four years there have been several breakouts. Currently, two cases have been confirmed in the town, and the residents attribute it to lack of water.
Nakuru is a water scarcity county, which has been made worse by prolonged droughts and drying up of a number of rivers. Most of the water used is piped from 35 boreholes, which also tend to dry up. The much-awaited Itare dam has come to a cropper due to mega corruption.
By Jeff Mwendwa/Veronica Bosibori
