Sh145 Million Funds Missing in Sakaja’s ‘Dishi na County’ Initiative, Auditor-General Reveals

The Auditor-General has raised serious concerns over the management of funds in Nairobi City County’s school feeding programme, Dishi na County, revealing that Sh145.7 million donated by the French Embassy in Kenya remains unaccounted for.

In a report tabled before the County Assembly, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu highlighted that her office could not trace how the funds were spent.

The donation, announced in September 2023 by French Minister of State for Development Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, was intended to support the feeding programme at Olympic Primary School in Kibera.

The funds were reportedly channelled directly to the Food for Education account, a non-profit organisation partnering with the county to implement the initiative.

However, the audit revealed a lack of accountability and transparency in the handling of the funds.

“The audit could not ascertain the accountability for these funds. In addition, there were no established measures by the County Executive regarding the management of the donations received, as there were no guidelines in place for handling such donations,” the report stated.

The Auditor-General also pointed out the absence of a formal agreement or memorandum of understanding between Nairobi County and Food for Education, raising questions about the organisation’s engagement and the terms of its involvement in the programme.

Further scrutiny revealed discrepancies in the payment structure.

Despite a requirement for parents to contribute Sh5 per meal, with the county covering the remaining Sh20, the county paid Sh25 per plate instead of the agreed Sh20.

This resulted in an overpayment, with Food for Education invoicing Sh345,961,676 and receiving Sh262,262,167 during the 2023/2024 financial year.

The report comes amid ongoing concerns about the lack of clear guidelines and regulatory frameworks governing the programme.

Last year, the County Health Committee, chaired by Mountain View MCA Maurice Ochieng, criticised Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration for failing to establish a policy framework to guide the initiative’s implementation.

“It is concerning that the programme is being run without clear guidelines on structures,” Ochieng remarked, echoing the Auditor-General’s findings.