Kisii county government allegedly cannot account for the Kshs. 30 million that was previously earmarked for the construction of Sombogo Tea Factory in Kitutu Chache North Sub-County, a 2014/15 financial year budget review by a Kisii County Assembly joint committee on implementation and Public Accounts Committee(PAC) has disclosed.
However, according to the details given on Tuesday evening by the Executive Committee Member in charge of the agriculture department Vincent Sagwe when he appeared before the joint committee, the funds which were approved by the County Assembly under Sombogo Tea Development were yet to be approved by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).
Sagwe was responding to questions raised by sections of the joint committee members on the fate of the funds since the funding of Sombogo Tea Factory by the Kisii government had been overturned by the controller of budget on the basis that the factory was a private project whose construction was supposed to be funded by the farmers.
There was drama when Sengera/Bosoti ward MCA Timothy Nyarang'o claimed that the County Assembly was duped to approve the funds after the Sombogo Tea Factory was changed to Sombogo Tea Development as a strategy to have the Kshs. 30 million approved.
Nyarang'o, a former KTDA director caused laughter when he apologised to the committee over the Kisii County Assembly's failure to scrutinise the wording of the project's name only to give the executive a blank cheque to get away with the Kshs. 30 million which he said had been formerly questioned by the controller of budget.
However, Sagwe clarified that the funds are yet to be given to Sombogo Tea Factory since KTDA declined the funds due to lack of structured institutional framework between KTDA and Kisii government in relation to funding of the project.
"Mr. Chairman, KTDA did not approve the funding of Sombogo Tea Factory by the Kisii government since there was no structured framework to account for the funds in relation to implementing the project which is supposed to be funded out of the farmers' contributions," said Sagwe.