House Audit Committee Reviews Accounts os Five Unaudited State Agencies
The Public Investments Committee on Social Services Administration and Agriculture today began a fact finding mission on the status of accounts of 24 state Agencies required by law to appear before the Committee for their respective audit reviews, after it was established that they have never been audited by the Office of the Auditor-General since their establishment.
First on the list today were five agencies including the Agricultural Information Resource Centre established in 1966. The Acting Director General, Mr. Richard Githeiga found himself in an awkward position after it turned out that he was giving the Hon. Emanuel Wangwe-led Committee misleading information about the existence and operations of the institution.
Mr. Githaiga had told the Committee that despite their existence as a State Agency under the State Department of Agriculture and Crop Development, the Agricultural Information Resource Centre did not have its own account to be audited and that they had been receiving their budgetary allocation from a revolving fund that is audited together with that of the State Department for Crops.
He further claimed that the Centre is not established under any statute, and that he is not the Director General as such, but acting under the watch of the Department’s Principal Secretary.
Members of the Committee Hon. Peter Masara Suna(West) and Hon. Ekwom Nabwini(Turkana Noth) and the Vice-chair Hon. Caleb Amisi( Saboti) termed this an illegality since it was not clear how the Director General had been recruited.
On his part, the Chairperson of the Committee Hon. Emanuel Wangwe (Navakholo) concurred with the Hon. Members that Mr. Githaiga was giving misleading information to the Committee about its establishment.
“Mr. Githaiga, you are lying before this Committee. You should come out and tell us the issues affecting you for the Committee to be able to make recomendations that will cure the problems you are currently facing. Why claim before this Committee that you are not a State Agency when you have been appointed by the President to the same Agency?”, Hon. Wangwe asked.
As a result, the Committee resolved to invite the Principal Secretary, State Department for Crops to make clarifications on the raised issues including the existence and appointment of the Board of Directors.
The Clinical Officers Council established by an Act of Parliament No. 20 of 2017 was the second to appear before the Committee. The Chairman of the Council, Prof. Simon Kangete and the Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Waqo appeared to substantiate why the Council had never been audited by the office of the Auditor-General.
Having taken the Committee through the mandate and thereafter challanges, the CEO Mr. Waqo told the Committee that they have just been categorised as an Agency 3 months ago.
He however informed the Committee that the has been undergoing private audits. He further claimed that they have been working in a vacuum.
“Chair, the process of auditing from the Auditor-General has just began and we endeavour to be compliant going foward”, he added.
The Council collects an average of Ksh.80 Million annually from it’s members. As such, the Committee pointed out that these are public funds that need to be audited.
The third Agency to appear before the Committee was Councellors and Psycologists Board, the Registrar Ms. Matilda Mugoi who appeared alone informed the Committee that the agency was established in October 2022 and that they have never received any allocation,hence they have no books to be audited. She further told the lawmakers that the Board was established last year, 2022, and is still waiting to be oparationalised.
The Committee Chair expressed concerns over how the agency has been operating without a budget. In her response, she noted that she is on secondment and draws her salary from the Ministry.
The Estates and Agents registration Board was the last to appear before the Committee today with the Registrar Ms. Rose Atemo Nabiswa unable to clarify on the establishment and oparations of the Board.
The Committee noted that the Board has been in operation since 1987 but had never been audited by the Office of the Auditor-General.
The Committee at this point found it noble to make strong recommendations that will separate the powers of Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries from interfering with operations of the Agencies.
The audit review for the remaining 19 agencies continues tomorrow.
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