Lifestyle audit at Kenya Power is long overdue

What you need to know:

The audit has reportedly started with the top executives before being cascaded to the utility’s 10,000 employees.
Those tasked with conducting the audit have an onerous task at hand to smoke out those behind the firm’s woes.
Also, after weeding out rogue and incompetent employees, it is imperative that the right people are placed in the jobs.

Kenya Power has begun conducting a lifestyle audit on its staff as it seeks to curb rampant fraud that has threatened to bring the electricity distributor to its knees.

The audit has reportedly started with the top executives before being cascaded to the utility’s 10,000 employees. The move while laudable will only meet its objective if it is carried out fairly, transparently and rigorously. The firm’s management has promised impartiality in the exercise that involves the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

Kenya Power has in the recent past gone through lean times, sinking into a net loss of about Sh3 billion in the financial year ended June 2020. This was the first time that the utility had made a loss in almost three decades.

This dismal performance and public anger over the high electricity bills prompted President Uhuru Kenyatta to appoint a task force, which made a number of recommendations, including carrying out a lifestyle audit among staff, in a bid to turn around the fortunes of the ailing company. The team noted that employees ought to be vetted for integrity, suitability and qualifications for the jobs they hold.

The task force’s preliminary report revealed a deep rot at Kenya Power, especially in the procurement department which has been a cash cow for fraudulent staff. For instance, it was found that the firm holds dead stock worth about Sh10 billion. Queries have also been raised about power purchase deals with independent producers.

Those tasked with conducting the audit, therefore, have an onerous task at hand to smoke out those behind the firm’s woes. Employees found to have abused their offices to profit from fraudulent deals must face the law and have whatever they have corruptly acquired revert to the firm. And once those culpable have been named, shamed and penalised, the firm must now be put on the right trajectory by instituting watertight systems in all departments to avoid this sad state of affairs recurring.

Also, after weeding out rogue and incompetent employees, it is imperative that the right people are placed in the jobs. Corruption at the firm doesn’t just involve benefiting from fraudulent deals. Unqualified personnel hired through the backdoor contribute to the mess the company finds itself in.