Audit Exposes Shocking Irregularities in Ksh28.7 Billion Cash Transfer Programmes
A recent audit has uncovered shocking irregularities in government cash transfer programmes, raising serious concerns over financial mismanagement and lack of accountability.
The audit report, issued by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, revealed multiple discrepancies in the spending of Ksh28.7 billion allocated to these programmes, with notable issues such as overpayments, dubious beneficiary records, and ineffective financial controls.
Gathungu’s audit for the 2023/2024 financial year specifically highlighted several troubling areas within the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs. Among the key findings were overpayments to beneficiaries, violations of operational rules by caregivers, repeated unsuccessful credit transactions, and insufficient data validation procedures. These issues paint a troubling picture of mismanagement in programmes designed to support vulnerable populations.
“A number of unsatisfactory issues were flagged, including overpayments, unverified beneficiary data, and poor controls over financial transactions,” the report states.
Audit Reveals Overpayments, Fraudulent Records
One of the most alarming revelations was that 919 beneficiaries were overpaid a total of Ksh896,500 in February 2024. According to the report, each beneficiary under the Consolidated Cash Transfer Programme is entitled to Ksh2,000 per month. However, the audit showed that some payments exceeded the prescribed amount, indicating a serious breakdown in financial oversight.
Further analysis of the Older Persons Cash Transfer Programme uncovered even more discrepancies. The report found that 15,243 caregivers were supporting multiple households, which directly violates the department’s operations manual. The rules are clear: each caregiver is supposed to represent only one household.
In addition to these irregularities, the audit also revealed that 1,719 beneficiaries had more than three failed credit transactions, amounting to Ksh34,799,500. This failure was attributed to weak controls within the financial disbursement system, leaving large sums of money unpaid and unaccounted for.
The audit also scrutinized the Persons with Severe Disabilities (PSD) and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) payrolls, revealing that 646 orphans and 3,812 vulnerable children were registered with invalid national identification numbers. This raises significant concerns about the effectiveness of data validation controls over beneficiary enrolment.
“In the circumstances, the effectiveness of data validation controls over beneficiary enrolment could not be confirmed,” the report notes.
Land Encroachments
Beyond financial irregularities, the audit uncovered that several parcels of land intended for children’s remand homes, rehabilitation centres, and rescue centres had been encroached upon and lacked proper ownership documents. For instance, the Getathuru National Reception, Assessment, and Classification Centre, located in Nairobi’s Westlands sub-county, had a 17-hectare property partially occupied by a Chinese construction company.
The report reveals that the company built a permanent double perimeter wall and continued occupying the land three years after the completion of the Redhill-Waiyaki Way bypass project—without a lease agreement.
At Wamumu Rehabilitation School, approximately 40.5 hectares of land were allocated to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), while another 26 hectares are set to be given to a local group. However, no approval documents were provided for these land allocations, further highlighting the lack of proper oversight.
Other land-related issues were discovered at Othaya Rehabilitation School, where a 9.8-hectare plot was found to be unfenced and lacking ownership documents. In Murang’a, private developers had encroached on the 0.9-hectare plot of the Children’s Remand Home, building permanent structures on the land. Similarly, the Thika Rescue Centre’s 10.1-hectare property remains only partially fenced.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu emphasized the urgent need for reforms in the administration of these government-funded social protection programmes. She called for better data verification processes, stronger financial controls, and legal action to recover encroached public land.
With these findings, a parliamentary investigation into the mismanagement of funds and land meant for vulnerable groups is expected to follow.
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