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{
    "id": 1276740,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1276740/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 46,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Bumula, DAP-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Wanami Wamboka",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Committee invited the Accounting Officers from the State Corporations under review to respond to audit queries presented before the it. Our Report contains observations, findings, and recommendations from examining reports of the Auditor-General for the 23 State Corporations for three financial years up to the 2020/2021 Financial Year. For the benefit of the Members who are perusing through it, the Report is structured as follows: 1. General observations arising from recurring and cross-cutting audit queries. 2. Recommendations on each of the above. 3. Audit queries raised by the Auditor-General in the audit report on each state corporation. 4. Management responses to each of the audit queries. 5. Committee observations and findings on each audit query. 6. Recommendations of the Committee on each audit query raised. The Committee proposes policy changes it believes will cure the public financial administrative challenges, leading to audit challenges. At the same time, the Committee has recommended specific actions against officers who may have acted contrary to the law. The Committee further recommends additional investigation of certain matters by the relevant investigative agencies, such as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). All this is geared towards ensuring the prudent use of public resources and holding all persons who have misappropriated public funds accountable in accordance with Article 226 (5) of the Constitution. As a Committee, we believe that, if implemented, these recommendations will enhance accountability, effectiveness, transparency, efficiency, and prudent management of state corporations, leading to commercial viability and realization of value for money by entities responsible for public investment in the governance and education sectors as a whole. Hon. Speaker, specifically, the Committee encountered the following issues, which are cross-cutting in all the entities, and has made recommendations intending to cure them. The first issue that the Committee encountered was poor accounting standards and the general incapacity of some accounting officers. The Committee found that, due to a lack of exposure to the audit process culminating in parliamentary review, some accounting officers were ignorant of, or non-compliant with the various provisions of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act 2012 and the Public Audit Act 2015. Audit queries as far back as Financial Year 2018/2019 remained un-responded to by some agencies, whose management teams were only jolted to action when invited to appear before the Committee. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the National Treasury and the Office of the Auditor-General conduct annual sensitization and capacity building for all the Accounting Officers and finance staff in state corporations in various responsibilities during the audit cycle and ensure their adherence to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). Even as the Committee adhered to the various laws on accountability, we also used the process to boost capacity and guide accounting officers. Our recommendations will invariably become harsher in subsequent audits. Hon. Speaker, the second issue we encountered was the late submission of supporting documents. The Committee observed that some accounting officers failed to submit supporting documents to the Auditor-General on time during the audit cycle as required under Section 68 of the PFM Act. This invariably led to the Committee discussing matters that should ordinarily not feature in the Report - some as mundane as accounts not balancing. Therefore, the Committee recommends that accounting officers comply with Section 68(2)(k) of the PFM Act 2012 by providing timely supportive documentation. In subsequent audits, the Committee will prescribe punitive measures to be taken against accounting officers who will fail to adhere to the law in this regard. Also, as Committee, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}