Half A Billion Inua Jamii Cash Went To The Dead

A new report has shown how State Department of Social Protection transferred funds to deceased beneficiaries in the past four years.

In the report tabled in Parliament, KSh 254 million was transferred to 7,577 dead beneficiaries under the Inua Jamii cash programme.

“This resulted in an unexplained payment of Sh254,702,000 for the period starting 2017 to June 30, 2021,” Auditor General Nancy Gathungu said.

Notably, the figures are from a review of 68 out of the 290 constituencies.

Gathungu also stressed that the audit which was conducted in November 2021 showed that the payroll for payment was erroneous.

The errors was noticed in the cash transfer to older persons (OP-CT), orphans and vulnerable children (CT-OVC), and persons with severe disability (PWSD-CT).

Equally, banks among other service providers were also put on the spot having received commissions of over KSh 15 million which was majorly charged on the irregular payments.

“In the circumstances, the propriety, accuracy and completeness of Sh269,984,120 utilised cash transfer for the year ended June 30, 2021 could not be ascertained,” Gathungu said.

What’s more, Gathungu stated that the department is working without an internal audit section despite dealing in large sums of money.

“During the year under review, no internal audit report was prepared and there was no proof of internal controls to detect and prevent errors,” the audit said.

Instances of diversion of funds was also detected with KSh 54 million diverted irregularly during the period to 2021.

“The money was used for payment to merchants and suppliers, the Kenya Revenue Authority and employees for the State Department without authorisation,” the audit said.