Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna on Friday claimed that the Auditor General’s Office grapples with many challenges that hinder it from properly discharging its mandate.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Speaking during an interview at Spice FM on Friday, Sifuna revealed that there are instances where the Senate is forced to postpone committee meetings with offers from Nancy Gathungu’s office because they don’t have the means to get to Nairobi.
“The Office of the Auditor General complains to the Senate that they are underfunded and under resourced. We have had meetings of the Senate Public Accounts adjourned because officers of the AG Kisumu hub were not able to travel, they have no fare,” the Senator said. Sifuna’s revelation comes months after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu complained of being underfunded.
In May, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu protested against proposed budget cuts of over Sh270 million, arguing that it would hamper the operations of her office, including the preparation of audit reports for national and county governments.
Despite being a critical anchor in overseeing the usage of public funds, the OAG relies on annual allocations proposed by the National Treasury and approved by the National Assembly.
Gathungu had previously advocated for an overhaul of the funding system to enhance the OAG’s independence, proposing a protected fund for the office, ring-fenced from arbitrary adjustments by Parliament and the National Treasury.
While speaking during the interview, the senator also blamed the EACC for delaying prosecution of officials accused of graft brought to their attention.
He lauded the Auditor General for being involved in the process and forwarding the cases to the Senate, specifically, the Public Accounts Committee. The committee evaluates the situation and then forwards its recommendations to the EACC for action.
Sifuna revealed that EACC delays and sometimes does not even give feedback about the cases brought to their attention. “For the past two years over 150 graft cases have been reported to the EACC by the Public Accounts Committee of the Senate, but when we query them on the progress we unfortunately don’t get direct feedback”, Sifuna said.
The Nairobi Senator has emphasized the need an enhanced budget to aid the OAG be more efficient in their services….CLICK HERE FOR MORE ARTICLE>>>
