Ruto to conduct special audit of Ksh 10 billion spending in Uhuru last days
Ruto to conduct special audit of spending in Uhuru last days according to revealations by the the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Ruto to conduct special audit of spending in Uhuru last days according to revealations by the the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that President William Ruto’s administration intends to carry out a special audit of the tens of billions of shillings that were spent in the last hours of the former administration without the consent of legislators.
The audit is a requirement of the IMF’s current 38-month budgetary support program, which has enabled the unlocking of a Sh55.07 billion ($447.39 million) loan, and is part of the pledges made by Dr. Ruto’s government to the multilateral lender.
The Treasury spent Sh23 billion without the approval of Parliament in July and August, which came weeks before the inauguration of President William Ruto.
Unbudgeted expenditures included Sh810 million for maintenance of the State House, Sh2.2 billion for the construction of a military research facility, and Sh4.5 billion for a subsidy on maize flour.
In addition, Sh9.45 billion was set aside for road development, and Sh6 billion was used to buy a 60% interest in Telkom Kenya, converting the operator into a parastatal.
According to the IMF, the administration of Dr. Ruto has agreed to carry out a special audit to “provide accountability and transparency for spending performed beyond the approved budget.”
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“A planned special audit on supplementary budgeting—including under Article 223 of the Constitution—to provide accountability and transparency for spending undertaken outside the approved budget (is being conducted),” said the IMF of Kenya’s commitments.
The Sh23 billion is a part of the Sh54.6 billion that the Treasury agreed to take out of the government’s primary account without parliamentary authorization.
According to Article 223 of the Constitution, the Treasury is permitted to remove funds from the Consolidated Fund without the consent of MPs, but must do so within two months by submitting a supplementary budget for their approval.
The unbudgeted disbursements are, however, capped at 10 per cent of the appropriated expenditures.
The IMF says the special probe on supplementary budgeting by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu will also seek to “identify trends and risks in spending authorised under supplementary budgets”.
Ms Gathungu is expected to complete the audit by September 2023.
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