Kenya National Library Services (KNLS) has come under fire from MPs for leaving its entire book collection, valued at Sh1.069 billion, without insurance cover, a gap the Auditor-General first flagged in 2018 and which remains unresolved.
Appearing before the National Assembly's Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture at Bunge Tower (PIC-SSAA) on Wednesday, KNLS officials also faced questions over the delayed completion of its Sh2.4 billion headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi, irregular board expenses and a severe staffing shortage.
Committee Vice Chairperson Caleb Amisi questioned how an institution built around books could have left them unprotected.
"Every state agency has a primary mandate. As an institution, you exist only because of these books, so one would wonder why you have no insurance cover, yet this forms your primary mandate," Amisi said.
The uninsured stock includes books worth Sh88.2 million that were donated to the institution. KNLS Director General Charles Nzivo told MPs that the absence of a formal book depreciation policy had made it impossible to compute the net book value needed to secure cover. He said the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board issued guidance in June 2024 to help the institution draft such a policy.
"We are now incorporating this guidance to develop a comprehensive book depreciation policy, after which insurance cover will be acquired," Nzivo said.
He added that KNLS had also struggled to find insurers willing to provide suitable cover, despite approaching local underwriters and libraries abroad.
On the headquarters, the project was awarded in March 2012 at Sh2.055 billion, but delays have pushed the cost up to Sh2.409 billion. Committee Chairperson Emmanuel Wangwe directed KNLS to submit further documentation on the project by October 21, 2026.
MPs also scrutinised the KNLS board's spending after establishing that it held 18 meetings in a single financial year against an authorised maximum of 10, spending Sh11.31 million without written approval from the parent ministry.
On staffing, only 168 of the institution's 317 approved positions are filled, leaving 149 vacancies. Management said it had asked the National Treasury for Sh279.4 million annually to recruit 152 employees.
The committee further demanded agreements between KNLS and county governments covering library land and infrastructure transferred to the counties, after an audit established that 35 parcels worth more than Sh430 million lacked title deeds or proof of ownership. Nzivo said the institution was working with the county governments to obtain the necessary documents.
He also asked the committee to help KNLS recover money owed to it by other state agencies.
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