Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga was on Tuesday put to task by Senate’s Public Accounts Committee over illegal tendering and purchases worth millions of shillings by his administration.
Rasanga failed to convince members of the Committee that the expenditures did not violate procurement laws.
The audit report for 2013-2014 showed the county violated procurement laws, leading to over expenditure of Sh69 million, which was 77 per cent of the approved budget.
This broke the legal 10 per cent required for contract variation.
“The over expenditure was not approved by the county assembly through a supplementary budget,” the audit report reads.
The committee chaired by Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale questioned the county executive why it varied the contract for purchase of 24 second-hand vehicles from Toyota Kenya for the Health department by spending Sh159 million and not Sh89 million indicated on the budget.
Rasanga said the report “gives incorrect finding by failing to consider the entire budget for motor vehicle purchase.”
The governor and his officials said they did not break tendering laws because the approved budget was Sh199 million and not Sh89 million.
“Allocation for the purchase was provided under various departments but the execution was done centrally,” Rasanga said, as quoted by the Star.
“The important thing is that the projects were implemented,” he added.