NAIROBI, Kenya – Billions of shillings intended for Kenya’s most vulnerable populations may have been mismanaged, with a new audit report revealing widespread irregularities in cash transfer programmes, including overpayments and questionable beneficiary records.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has flagged multiple discrepancies in the expenditure of Sh28.7 billion allocated to various government cash transfer programmes, raising concerns over financial mismanagement and lack of accountability.
In her report for the financial year 2023/2024, Gathungu highlighted significant irregularities within the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs.
These include overpayment of beneficiaries, caregivers supporting multiple households, failed credit transactions, and inadequate data validation controls.
“A number of unsatisfactory issues were flagged, including overpayments, unverified beneficiary data, and poor controls over financial transactions,” the report states.
The audit revealed that 919 beneficiaries were overpaid a total of Sh896,500 in February 2024. Under the Consolidated Cash Transfer Programme, each recipient is entitled to Sh2,000 per month, yet payments exceeded this amount in several cases.
Additionally, an analysis of the Older Persons Cash Transfer Programme found that 15,243 caregivers were supporting more than one household, in violation of the department’s operational manual, which states that a caregiver should represent only one household.
The report further uncovered that 1,719 beneficiaries had more than three failed credit transactions, amounting to Sh34,799,500, due to ineffective controls in the financial disbursement system.
Investigations into the payrolls of the Persons with Severe Disabilities (PSD) and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programmes found that 646 orphans and 3,812 vulnerable children were registered using invalid national identification numbers.
“In the circumstances, the effectiveness of data validation controls over beneficiary enrolment could not be confirmed,” the report adds.
The audit also found that multiple parcels of land designated for children’s remand homes, rehabilitation centres, and rescue centres lack proper ownership documents and have been encroached upon.
Among the affected facilities is the Getathuru National Reception, Assessment, and Classification Centre in Nairobi’s Westlands sub-county.
The 17-hectare property was partially occupied by a Chinese construction company during the construction of the Redhill-Waiyaki Way bypass.
However, the report indicates that the company built a permanent double perimeter wall and has continued occupying the land three years after the project was completed. No lease agreement was provided for this occupation.
Similarly, at Wamumu Rehabilitation School, approximately 40.5 hectares were allocated to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), while another 26 hectares are in the process of being allocated to a local group.
The report states that no approval documents were provided for these allocations.
The Othaya Rehabilitation School’s 9.8-hectare land was found to be unfenced and lacking ownership documents, while the Children’s Remand Home in Murang’a has seen its 0.9-hectare plot encroached upon by private developers who have constructed permanent buildings on the land.
Meanwhile, the Thika Rescue Centre’s 10.1-hectare property remains partially unfenced.
Gathungu’s findings highlight the need for urgent reforms in the administration of government-funded social protection programmes.
She called for enhanced data verification processes, stringent financial controls, and legal action to recover encroached public land.
