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Ouko Eurobond, NYS audit reports due in a fortnight

The parliamentary watchdog committee in June instructed Ouko to conduct a special audit of the government's Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) for the last three years/FILE

The parliamentary watchdog committee in June instructed Ouko to conduct a special audit of the government’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) for the last three years/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – Auditor General Edward Ouko is expected to present his findings on the Eurobond saga and the National Youth Service to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee within a fortnight.

PAC Chairman Nicholas Gumbo said deliberations on the special audit reports is among the workload that the committee expects to handle when it resumes its sittings on January 18.

“Within the month of January, we expect to receive special audit reports from the Auditor General on both the NYS and the Eurobond. Both these are matters of extreme national interest and will require ultimate commitment and devotion to the ideals of our nation if we are to meet the expectations of our employers,” he said in his goodwill message to members of the committee.

Gumbo said MPs will be questioning why the injection of the funds into the economy did not have the expected effect of driving down interest rates which will boost investment, spur economic growth and provide growth.

Questions have been raised by the Opposition and civil society as to why the funds were deposited and spent from an offshore account contrary to the law.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich explained that the government used Sh78.8 billion out of the Sh289 billion realised from the international sovereign bond to settle rescheduled syndicated loans and infrastructure development while the rest could have been injected into the budget to fund government spending.

The parliamentary watchdog committee in June instructed Ouko to conduct a special audit of the government’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) for the last three years. This followed reports of an alleged loss of Sh791 million at the National Youth Service.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko recently ordered the prosecution of Devolution PS Peter Mangiti, National Youth Service (NYS) Director General Nelson Githinji and businessman Benson Muchemi over allegations of fraud at NYS.

The three are accused of tampering with a public officer by trying to prevent NYS Senior Deputy Director General in Charge of Administration, Adan Harakhe, from reporting the loss of Sh695,400,000 to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

The DPP also accused the three of threatening and intimidating Harakhe with unspecified consequences if he proceeded to withdraw from the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS).

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Tobiko also ordered the prosecution of 23 Devolution Ministry officials for allegedly stealing and conspiring to defraud NYS of the sum of Sh791,385,000, contrary to section 317 of the Penal Code.

Gumbo also said called on the auditor general will submit his report for the 2014/2015 financial year before the end of the month for members to state deliberating on its findings.

The PAC chairman informed his members that officials from Republic of Jordan will be visiting the committee in regards to concerns raised by members of the public on procurement by the National Police Service.

The House committee in conjunction with other committees of Parliament dealing with public finance are hoping to hold a national dialogue on public finance management in Kenya.

Gumbo said the forum will bring together accounting officers and key players in both public and private sectors for a one day seminar as a forum “for candid engagements on how the Kenyan public can extract maximum value from every shilling spent.”

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