The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) is under intense scrutiny after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu flagged questionable transactions involving Sh200 million meant for cane farmers, with concerns over duplicate payments, undocumented transactions, and weak oversight.
In her report covering the period up to June 30, 2024, Gathungu said there was no evidence that payments earmarked for farmers at Chemelil, Muhoroni, and Nzoia sugar companies ever reached the intended beneficiaries. Instead, funds were sent to saccos and cooperatives without remittance records to confirm receipt by individual farmers.
At Chemelil Sugar Company, Sh140 million was paid to various saccos and institutions, but the firm admitted it had no mechanism to track whether farmers received the money. The company also lacked a process to identify heirs of farmers who had died between listing and disbursement.
A separate Sh13.5 million payment, linked either to Mumias or Muhoroni Sugar, could not be confirmed due to missing documentation. At Nzoia Sugar, Sh63 million reportedly disbursed to offset farmers’ arrears lacked remittance evidence from the Nzoia Sacco Society.
The audit also flagged Sh150 million in salary arrears at Nzoia Sugar, where duplicate account numbers resulted in irregular double payments Sh5 million to retirees, Sh20 million to casual workers, and Sh17 million to permanent staff.
A Sh1.3 billion provision for salary harmonisation was unsupported by documentation or approvals from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), raising further concerns.
Beyond payouts, the report revealed that over Sh11.2 billion in assets, including 17 parcels of land worth Sh6.6 billion, lacked ownership documents, with some parcels allegedly allocated to private developers. Idle cane testing units valued at Sh1.4 billion, meant to measure sucrose content for farmer payments, remain non-operational due to poor integration with sugar mills.
AFA was also cited for irregularly investing Sh221 million in a fixed deposit account without Treasury approval and maintaining 28 dormant bank accounts holding Sh13.1 million.
The revelations highlight persistent accountability gaps in agricultural fund management. With ghost payments, stalled projects, and idle assets undermining sugar sector reforms, taxpayers and farmers are likely to demand decisive action to restore trust and ensure intended beneficiaries are not shortchanged.
