Senators interrogates Busia’s Sh4.9 million consultancy for already classified hospital

Busia County’s financial management has come under sharp scrutiny after a Senate committee uncovered questionable spending, including millions paid to a consultant to determine the classification of a hospital that was already officially listed.

The expenditure, flagged in the Auditor-General’s report for the year ending June 30, 2024, has triggered demands for accountability from Governor Paul Otuoma.

The Senate County Public Accounts Committee questioned why Sh4.98 million was allocated for consultancy services at the hospital’s level, yet such classification falls under the national health authorities.

CPAC Chairperson Moses Kajwang openly criticised the decision, saying it made no sense to spend public funds on a matter that had already been settled.

“This reads like a fictional story, Governor, that you gave a consultancy Sh4.98 million to advise you on whether the hospital should be Level 5 when it was already Level 5. This one is drama,” he said.

Kitui Senator Enock Wambua also weighed in, questioning the logic behind outsourcing.

“What do you need consultancy services for? Who is supposed to consult for what? I think there is a requirement for a facility to move from one level to the other; it’s about service provision,” he stated.

Governor Otuoma defended the move, saying the hospital’s classification had been determined informally in the past.

“There was just an arbitrary registration in the county here to say that this is now a facility Level 4 and Level 5,” he explained during the session.

The committee further raised red flags over a drastic drop in county revenue collections, especially from parking fees and other streams.

Senators warned that the unexplained decline could point to mismanagement or possible loss of funds.

Kajwang highlighted glaring gaps in collections from physical planning and development, questioning the disappearance of millions.

“You collected Sh4.9 million prior year and last year you collected Sh2 million, so where did the rest of the money go?” he asked.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna added that such figures should have prompted immediate internal investigations.

“So if you were brought numbers that show a 70 per cent decline, this is in the 2023/2024 financial year. You should have already asked for an explanation from your chief officer,” he said.