A review of Auditor General’s reports by the National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education has brought to light significant financial and governance irregularities across several institutions of higher learning, prompting calls for transparency and accountability.
The committee chaired by Bumula MP, Jack Wamboka, the Wednesday, June 18, session revealed a troubling pattern of anomalies, ranging from missing documentation, questionable expenditures to ethnic imbalances in staffing and prolonged acting appointments.
Thika Technical Training Institute emerged as a focal point of the audit, with numerous discrepancies raising red flags.
“Thika Technical Training Institute’s records revealed several troubling anomalies,” stated a committee spokesperson.
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Key lease agreements and approved rental rates for institutional housing were conspicuously absent, while the rent register indicated only 15 houses rented to employees, despite payroll records showing 43 tenants.
“These discrepancies raise serious questions about the completeness of revenue records,” a committee member remarked.
Furthermore, the institute lacked approved policies for staff and student housing or facility hiring. According to the committee review, the institution’s rental rates for facility hire had not been updated to reflect current market prices, casting doubt on the reported revenue of Kshs 546 million.
Expenditures at Thika Technical Training also came under fire, with Kshs 379,000 and Kshs 244,500 paid out to board members as sitting allowances for meetings held in hotels. However, crucial supporting documents such as minutes of deliberations and prior written approval to hold meetings off-site were not provided.
“The lack of supporting documentation for these expenditures is a significant concern,” Wamboka noted.
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The committee also noted that procurement processes at the institute were similarly flawed, with missing documentation like pre-qualification lists, tender evaluations, and contract agreements, making it impossible to verify the legitimacy of payments and contracts.
As a direct result of these findings, the Committee has resolved to conduct a fact-finding mission at Thika Technical Training Institute.
Similar issues were identified at Machakos University, where advance payments were made without the required security bonds, and legal services were procured without Attorney General’s approval or proper service agreements.
The audit also highlighted an ethnic imbalance in staffing at Machakos University and instances of prolonged acting appointments beyond legal limits.
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At Katine Technical Training Institute, irregularities included excessive travel allowances and extended acting appointments, directly contravening public service laws. A review of supporting documents showed travel and accommodation expenses totaling Kshs 3,036,465, with imprests paid through cash withdrawals by the finance department without proper imprest warrants.
“Further, imprest advanced for domestic travel was not accounted for through surrender vouchers with relevant support documentation such as requisitions, schedule of payment, work tickets, fuel receipts and back to office reports not available for scrutiny,” the committee’s report detailed.
The Committee has since directed that these irregularly drawn travel allowances be reimbursed to the Institute.
In their deliberations, the committee underscored the gravity of their findings.
“These findings underscore urgent needs for stronger governance, transparency, and adherence to laws across public technical training institutions,” Jack Wamboka emphasised
By Cornelius Korir
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