Economy

Auditor-General hiring panel sends three names to Uhuru

ONYANGO

Mr Sammy Onyango, the Auditor-General Interview Panel leader. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA

The Auditor-General Interview Panel has forwarded three names to President Uhuru Kenyatta to consider for nomination.

Former Deloitte East Africa CEO Sammy Onyango, who chaired the seven-member panel, said his team had completed its work but declined to diclose the names of the three top candidates, citing their oath of secrecy.

Mr Kenyatta appointed Mr Onyango and six others in September to help recruit the next Auditor-General after Edward Ouko’s term ended in August.

“Our report is done and the secretariat is dealing with the protocol of delivering it to the office of the President,” said Mr Onyango in response to the Business Daily queries.

The revelations come in the wake of reports indicating that six State-controlled institutions, including three companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, have failed to meet deadlines for publishing their financial results for the year ended June due to a vacancy in the Auditor-General’s office.

The affected are the Central Bank of Kenya, the Capital Markets Authority, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Kenya Power, KenGen and East African Portland Cement Company.

State-backed firms and agencies must secure approval for reporting their financial results from the Auditor-General, but the previous holder of that office, Mr Ouko, retired in August and his successor is yet to be named. Under the Public Audit Act, President Uhuru Kenyatta must nominate one candidate and forward the name to the National Assembly within seven days.

The Public Audit Act further grants the National Assembly three days to approve or reject the nomination.

A total of 17 candidates were interviewed, among them Deputy Auditor-General William Otieno Agunda, Mr Abdullahi Idris Abdi, a Tarbaj Constituency parliamentary aspirant in the 2017 polls and Mr Kamar Edwin Kipkoech from Elgeyo Marakwet.

Others were Kiambu County Finance and Economic Planning CEC Francis Kigo Njenga, Mr David Kanja, Dr Peter Kitonyo from Kitui, Nancy Gathangu from Nyeri, and David Gichana from Nyamira.

The panel also interviewed Denis Kariuki from Nyeri, Sylvester Kiini from Makueni and Leonard Lari Rang’ala from Busia.