Governors on the spot over bursary lapses, missing loan records

Senators have turned the heat on governors over widespread mismanagement of county bursaries.

This follows revelations of missing beneficiary records and illegal disbursements, including payments to seemingly non-existent beneficiaries.

A report by the Senate County Public Investment and Special Funds Committee revealed that many counties failed to maintain basic documentation for bursaries.

This has made it impossible to verify the existence, accuracy or recoverability of funds disbursed to students and other beneficiaries.

The findings show that key programmes such as education revolving funds, bursary schemes and empowerment funds are operating without beneficiary lists or recovery plans, despite handling substantial public resources.

In many cases, bursaries are awarded to students without admission or registration numbers.

In other instances, multiple disbursements are made to students with the same admission numbers.

The committee criticised counties for breaching their own laws, with some disbursing amounts above the limits set out in their respective bursary fund legislation or schedules.

“These breaches of law call into question the propriety and regularity of bursary expenditure,” the report noted.

The committee added that such irregularities undermine fairness and transparency in allocation, raising concerns about whether limited resources are reaching the most deserving students.

Additional weaknesses were also noted in the composition of bursary boards, with some counties operating without properly constituted governance structures, further weakening oversight and accountability.

At the same time, the report exposed severe budgetary challenges across counties, including underfunding, weak budget execution and unrealistic financial planning.

In several cases, county executives failed to release the full approved budgets to special funds, crippling programme implementation and denying beneficiaries access to essential services.

The committee observed that some funds received less than 40 per cent of their approved allocations, significantly disrupting operations and service delivery.

In a stark example, Siaya county’s bursary fund received none of its approved Sh134 million allocation for the financial year — a 100 per cent underfunding that the committee said had no official explanation.

“The entire approved budget of Sh134,000,000 was not disbursed, with no official communication or justification provided,” the report states.

The committee warned that persistent underfunding and weak financial controls are undermining the effectiveness of devolved funds and eroding public confidence in county financial management systems.

In Bomet county, the Education Revolving Fund recorded long-term receivables of Sh35.7 million issued to 2,836 students.

However, the county failed to provide beneficiary lists, ageing analysis or provisions for bad debts. Cash balances of Sh4.3 million were also unsupported.

County management told the committee that the Higher Education Loans Board manages the funds, with the county only receiving reports.

However, lawmakers stressed that such arrangements still require full accountability at the county level.

In Lamu county, the report cited long-outstanding loans and imprests dating back to 2013 and 2015 with no structured recovery system.

Some loans were issued without adequate securities or insurance cover, heightening the risk of losses.

Kwale county was also flagged for millions of shillings in outstanding receivables, with no evidence of loan agreements, repayment plans or active recovery efforts, contrary to public finance regulations.

Tharaka Nithi county similarly had long-outstanding debts across multiple funds, with auditors noting weak documentation and inadequate recovery measures.

The committee said the absence of proper records and enforcement systems has crippled counties’ ability to track repayments and ensure revolving funds remain sustainable.