Lawmakers have summoned Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to appear before them next week following concerns that reports emanating from her office are of poor quality.

MPs who sit in the Public Investment Committee (PIC) on Education and Governance chaired by Bumula MP Wamboka Wanami claimed that some of the auditors are colluding with state agencies to have their books cleared.

The lawmakers further claimed that the auditors have been ignoring major issues and have only been highlighting flimsy matters to enable the culprits to walk scot-free.

Financial issues

Led by Wamboka, the lawmakers said they will not be used as rubber stamps to only clear Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA’s), yet they are aware the institutions are facing serious financial issues.

He claimed that some of the auditors have been holding meetings with affected MDA’s after which they clear them before they appear before House committees to respond to questions.

Said Wamboka: “Parliament will not be used to rubber stamp illegalities in government. We are reprimanding the director in charge of Audit who sits in the office of the Auditor General. And because of this we want to meet the AG herself because this is unacceptable.”

He added: “The quality of audit we have now is very wanting. We will order a fresh audit of some of these institutions. We want the AG to tell us what is going on.”

Bomachoge Chache MP Alpha Miruka said that the National Assembly will not be used as a rubber stamp.

He said: “This National Assembly cannot and will not be used to rubber stamp things here. We need to deal with real issues.”

The MPs made the remarks after meeting with Kenya Space Agency Acting Director General Hilary Kosgei and (KNQA) Chief Executive Alice Kande who they declined to listen to on grounds that their reports have been doctored to their favour.

The MPs accused the two entities of working with auditors to have them cleared yet they are aware that they have issues.

Wamboka said there is now way such institutions can have only one audit query for four financial years, which the auditors marked as cleared.

Said Wamboka: “We will not proceed with this sitting further. We will meet with the AG and also request for a fresh audit to be done in your institution.”

He added: “How can a whole institution such as KNQA for four financial years have only one question which is marked as addressed. Yet we know on an issue like ethnic imbalance they lead the pack.”

In the case of Kenya Space Agency, the audit report has only flagged two issues dealing with human resources issues.

One of the issues relate to 14 staff members being in acting capacity for over a year while the remaining 45 are in short term contracts.

According to the report, the agency has not recruited its own staff owing to a pending authorization from the National Treasury and Economic planning and has been relying on staff on attachment form the parent ministry and other MDA’s.

Renewed appointments

Reads the report: “ The board has regularly every six months renewed the appointments in acting capacity of 14 management staff pending formal recruitment of the agency’s own staff.”

The other question relates to lack of internal audit function as it uses the Ministry of Defence internal audit unit and the other one relates to understaffing at the agency as it has an approved staff establishment of 77 employees against actual 59 positions resulting in staff shortfall of 18 personnel.

With regards to KNQA, the report shows that for four financial years, the entity has only responded to two questions relating to staffing where the entity has been flagged for having only 39 staff-in-post against an approved establishment of one 126 resulting to understaffing of 87 staff while the other question touches on the failure by the entity  to surrender excess appropriations in aid.

Reads the report: “The statement of comparison of budget and actual amounts reflects rendering of services final budget amount and actual amount of Sh35,000,000 and Sh42,002,242 respectively, resulting to over-collection of Sh7,002,242 which has not been surrendered to the National Treasury as stipulated in Regulation 117(2) of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015. In the circumstances, Management was in breach of the law.”