By Valentine Omondi
Questions over National Social Security Fund (NSSF) liabilities, unpaid staff dues, and inconsistencies in financial records dominated the appearance of Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee on Monday.
The committee raised concerns after discovering inconsistencies in the county’s financial statements, including changes to an NSSF liability estimated at about Sh500 million, prompting senators to question the accuracy of the documents presented for scrutiny.
Committee Chairperson Senator Moses Kajwang’ said the county’s financial statements had made the committee’s work more difficult because they continued to generate fresh questions instead of resolving audit issues.
“Your financial statements are generating a lot of issues and supplementary questions,” Kajwang’ told county officials, adding that several supporting notes had not been aged, making it impossible to establish the actual value and age of outstanding obligations.
The hearing further established that Kisumu County owes its employees approximately Sh1.3 billion in unpaid dues, forming part of the county’s Sh5.9 billion pending bills.
Senator Enoch Wambua questioned the county’s claim that it had already settled Sh1.9 billion under its payment plan, demanding a schedule identifying the creditors who had been paid and the amounts involved.
The county, however, was unable to immediately provide the committee with the requested records.
Earlier, county officials attributed the increase in pending bills to court judgments requiring immediate settlement of legal claims, inherited liabilities from previous administrations, and underperformance in local revenue collection.
Senator Tom Ojienda also questioned the sharp decline in key county revenue streams, citing parking fee collections that dropped from about Sh19 million to Sh113,000, and property rates that fell from about Sh20 million to Sh6 million.
Governor Nyong’o defended the county’s position, saying not all the liabilities had arisen under his administration.
“Some of these debts are historical and were inherited from previous regimes, while others are a consequence of national government policies,” the governor told the committee.
He pledged to act on the committee’s observations once the proceedings are formally communicated to the county.
“Once we get the report of discussions today, we’ll sit down and go through what has been discussed today and go to practical work on the questions that have been raised,” Nyong’o said.
The committee is expected to summon the county again after reviewing the additional documents requested during the hearing.
