The Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds, chaired by Godfrey Osotsi, sat with Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo and his executive team to consider the Auditor General’s reports on county entities, including Vihiga Municipality and Amatsi Water Services Company Limited.

While municipal governance issues were noted, the Committee zeroed in on Amatsi Water, whose audit revealed deep-seated financial, governance and operational failures, particularly rising non-revenue water, unsupported expenditures and weak internal controls.

Chairperson Osotsi questioned the credibility of management explanations, saying the pattern of audit findings pointed to systemic failure rather than isolated lapses. “You cannot keep coming here year after year with the same explanations of inherited systems and future plans. At some point, leadership must take responsibility for losses happening today,” he said.

The Auditor General reported that Amatsi produced water valued at approximately Kshs.229 million but failed to bill water worth about Kshs.89 million, representing 44 percent non-revenue water, far above the WASREB threshold. Osotsi questioned how management could justify such losses while citing strategies that had not yielded results.

Senator Eddy Oketch dismissed the explanations as inadequate. “You are losing almost half your water, yet the response is that motorbikes were bought and meetings held. That is not a solution. Where is the accountability for the Kshs.89 million lost?” he asked.

Governor Ottichilo defended the administration, stating that aging infrastructure and vandalism were key drivers of losses. “We acknowledge the challenges at Amatsi and have approved an NRW reduction strategy. We are investing in pipe replacement and strengthening enforcement to turn the company around,” he said.

However, the Committee remained unconvinced, noting unresolved prior-year audit issues, unsupported board allowances, weak revenue systems and continued governance breaches. Senators warned that unless Amatsi demonstrates measurable improvement, continued losses would amount to sanctioned waste of public resources.