GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 12637

PURSUANT to Article 201 (a), (d) (e) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and section 30 (2) (l) of the County Governments Act, 2012, it is notified for general public information that the Governor of Machakos County has established a County Pending Bills Verification and Audit Taskforce. The purpose of the Taskforce is to verify and authenticate the Machakos County Government pending bills as at the 30th June, 2022. It is further notified for information that upon publication of this notice, any person with a documented, verifiable and legit claim, or pending bill against Machakos County should, within fourteen (14) days, submit the claims or bills to the Taskforce for consideration. This applies where such claims have been submitted prior to this notice or not. The Taskforce shall consist of — Name Title Mutua Kilaka Chairperson Tobias Mutuku Mutua Member Consolata Mutisya (Dr.) Member Miyienda Wycliffe (Dr.) Member Joseph Munyao Member Willis Otieno Member Geoffrey Wambua Kilonzo Member Onesmus Muia Kuyu Member Teresia Wavinya Nicholas Member and Secretary The Taskforce shall, prior to embarking on its duties, subscribe to such oath of confidentiality and such other oaths, as may be prescribed. The Terms of Reference of the Taskforce are to— (a) scrutinize and analyse Machakos County Government pending bills, with a view to making appropriate recommendations to the Governor; (b) confirm the disclosures of the pending bills in accordance with the framework and format set out by the Public Sector 7856 7856 Accounting Standards Board (PSASB), and pursuant to section 164 (1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012; (c) verify expenditure arising from the pending bills as had been budgeted and planned for in the procurement plan for the respective financial years, in accordance with the provisions of section 45 (3) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015; (d) ask for, receive and study through the physical documents and information from the relevant departments; (e) physically verify the alleged projects and/or equipment's and/or work done as against the claimed bills; (f) verify whether goods, works and services rendered were inspected and accepted in accordance with the provisions of section 48(4) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015; (g) confirm whether the claimed pending bills had been previously paid; (h) identify instances and patterns of inefficiencies that may have led to accumulation of pending bills; (i) recommend measures to mitigate future escalation of pending bills; and (j) perform any other function incidental to the foregoing. In the performance of its functions, the Taskforce— (a) shall be properly constituted for purpose of transacting its business with five members present to form the quorum; (b) shall hold such number of meetings at such places and such times as the taskforce shall consider necessary for the proper discharge of its mandate; (c) may request for documentation and any other material or information required in the discharge of its mandate, from any officer or official in the county government of Machakos; (d) shall have access to all pending bills reports, relevant to its mandate; (e) shall, as it considers appropriate, carry out or cause to be carried out such studies or research as may inform the taskforce on its mandate; (f) shall submit reports to the Governor upon request; and (g) subject to the foregoing, the Taskforce and the secretariat shall have all the independence necessary for carrying out its function, and for the proper execution of its mandate, including the power to regulate its own procedure without being the subject of control by any other authority. The Taskforce shall— (a) within (1) one month (or such longer period that the Governor may authorize) submit to the Governor a report with appropriate recommendations; (b) submit to the Governor a final report detailing a recommendation geared towards ensuring that future escalation of pending bills within the County Government is avoided; (c) submit as appropriate, interim reports to the Governor as the Taskforce may deem fit and necessary or as the need arises; and (d) in consultation with the Governor, have the power to co-opt other staff in the county government, as it deems fit only for specialized aspects of its terms of reference. The Secretariat of the Taskforce: - The Secretariat of the Taskforce shall be responsible to the Taskforce for— (a) providing appropriate background briefing to the Taskforce; (b) preparing the Taskforce’s reports and disseminating any information deemed relevant to the Taskforce; (c) undertaking research and liaising with the relevant Machakos County Government Departments and any other institution in order to gather relevant information necessary for informing the Taskforce; and (d) policy interpretation, developing and implementing the programs and activities of the task force. These appointments take effect from the 15th September, 2022. Dated the 6th October, 2022. WAVINYA NDETI, MR/4218448 Governor, Machakos County.