The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) is on the spot over its failure to account for Sh12billion SGR land compensation under the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Phase One.
According to a report by the Public Investments Committee (PIC), the corporation did not provide supporting documents for compensations amounting to Sh12billion to the Project Affected Persons (PAPS) including a list of beneficiaries.
Copies of National Identity Cards, Personal Identification Number pin certificates and title deed surrenders from the National Land Commission were also not provided by the corporation.
The corporation also made overpayments of land compensations amounting to Sh14 .7million to beneficiaries who were paid Sh15.8 million instead of the entitled Sh1.1million.
As of June 30,2020, a balance of Sh9.2million was outstanding although Sh5.7million was subsequently made.
“In the circumstances, the accuracy and propriety of the unsupported payments and overpayments of Sh1. 1billion and Sh8.9million respectively on land compensation could not be confirmed,” the report reads in part.
Also, the debtor’s statement indicating the level of indebtedness was not provided for audit review.
The statement of profit or loss which indicates that SGR freight revenue was Sh12.2billion differs with the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) revenue amount of Sh8.9billion resulting to an unreconciled variance of Sh3.1billion.
According to the report, the company’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by Sh9.3billion as of June 30, 2020.
“In the circumstances, the accuracy and completeness of the reported main income of Sh14.6billion for the year ended June 30, 2020 could not be confirmed,” reads the report.
The lawmakers noted that the corporation continues to perform discouragingly with the statement of comprehensive income for the year ended 30 June 2020 reflecting an operating loss of Sh24.2billion compared to a loss of Sh8.5billion for the year ended June 30, 2019.
According to audit reports for previous financial years, various parcels of land were allocated to third parties without approval by either the Commissioner of Lands or the defunct local authorities.