Economy

Ouko urges Parliament to deny errant ministries funds

ouko

From left: Parliamentary Initiatives Network co-ordinator Jackline Kagume, Auditor-General Edward Ouko and the network’s chairman, Mr Kwame Owino, during the launch of a guidebook for national and county audit reports in Nairobi on October 12, 2016. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL

Auditor-General Edward Ouko has asked Parliament to block budgetary allocations to ministries and counties that fail to account for funds given to them.

Mr Ouko challenged lawmakers to use audit reports to ensure money is managed and used properly.

The anti-graft agency reckons that Kenya is losing nearly a third of its budget to corruption every year, but the Treasury blames the alleged losses on poor paperwork, which it says has fuelled the perception that funds were being squandered.

“The audit reports should be a constant reference when Parliament is apportioning funds,” Mr Ouko said. “Parliament should check out the accountability trends to determine budgetary allocations. When we start denying resources because of the audit opinions, chances are that accountability will start to improve,” he argued.

Kenya has a history of multi-billion shilling scandals that have failed to result in high-profile convictions, encouraging impunity and graft.

Mr Ouko said allocating money to a ministry or county based on how it used cash allocated to them previously would improve services and accountability.

According to the latest Auditor-General’s report tabled in Parliament in July, Sh7.3 billion for various government institutions cannot be accounted for in the financial year ending June 2015. In the same financial year, up to Sh14.4 billion was spent by government on projects that had no value for money.

The Sh7.3 billion figure is a significant improvement from the previous financial year where Sh66.7 billion could not be accounted for. Mr Ouko has indicated severally that failure by ministries, departments and commissions to produce support documentation for expenditure is an indication that state funds might have been used unlawfully or ineffectively.

He was speaking Wednesday during the launch of the Guide to Understanding National and County Audit Reports at the Sarova Stanley hotel in Nairobi.

The guide looks at the various types of public sector audit, the public audit process, types of issues raised by the auditor, audit opinions issued and avenues for public engagement.

He said the guide-book marks an important step to helping people understand what the Office of the Auditor General does.

“Most times we are under attack from people who do not fully understand our role and the fact that we operate on a constrained budget,” said Mr Ouko.