Govt hires Kenya firm to audit NSSF

A section of the Pension Towers currently under construction. Some stakeholders say the Fund is investing in unviable ventures. Photo BY RACHEL MABALA.

By Yasiin Mugerwa

Parliament

The government has hired a team of Kenyan-based auditors to conduct a forensic audit into the alleged gross abuse of workers savings kept with the National Social Security Fund, Daily Monitor has learnt.

A dependable source in the Office of Auditor General, told Daily Monitor yesterday that KPMG- Kenya, a consortium of high-ranking auditors has been engaged to audit NSSF operations.

“The KPMG team arrived last week and they are here to help us conduct forensic audits into the NSSF dealings,� an official in the Auditor General’s Office who requested not be named because he is not allowed to speak to the press confirmed to Daily Monitor yesterday.

Daily Monitor has learnt the Auditor General’s decision to hire a foreign firm was on the premise to rule out conflict of interest and any possibilities of manipulation of the findings as it has been the case with recent botched investigations into the alleged mismanaged of the Fund.

However, it is not yet clear how the Auditor General came to pick on the KPMG Kenya as a suitable firm to handle the alleged NSSF misdeeds that have infuriated the President. The Auditor General, Mr John Muwanga was not available for a comment.

In December last year, President Yoweri Museveni ordered the Auditor General, to conduct a forensic audit into the key projects undertaken by the NSSF during the tenure of interdicted Managing Director David Chandi Jamwa and Deputy Mondo Kagonyera for failure to monitor the workers’ savings on top of allegations of gross mismanagement and insubordination.

This was followed by a controversial NSSF Parliamentary probe which did not take off after the Attorney General said the Parliament did not have powers to investigate the Security Minister, Amama Mbabazi and Finance Minister Suruma who allegedly abused workers’ funds in a multi-billion Temangalo land scandal

In Parliament, MPs led by Nandala Mafabi, the Public Accounts Committee head, have welcomed the AG decision, insisting that; “This will help us to avoid intimidation, familiarisation and biased results in the report,� Mr Mafabi said. Nobody will say it’s a biased report because it’s going to be handled by foreign auditors.�

KPMG- Kenya’s audit could however unearth more rot in the management of NSSF amid reports that Mr Jamwa and Prof Kagonyera’s sacking has left the government vulnerable to accusations of sacrificing the two officials, especially after the President persuaded the NRM Caucus not to vote for censure against Mr Mbabazi, the party’s secretary general.

KPGM will among others investigate the money transfers, flouting of procurement procedures, blocking the Auditor General’s work, managers paying themselves hefty allowances and Bank of Uganda queries on various investment decisions.

Daily Monitor has separately established that KPGM-Kenya has been instructed to undertake investigations and handle over the findings within a period of four to six weeks. It has also emerged that the KPGM will be paid about $100,000.

The forensic audit targets key projects among others including a multi-million fleet management deal with Nissan Uganda, the procurement process of the Lumumba Avenue Pension Towers building project, and IT deal with Comtel. Efforts to speak to Mr Muwanga proved futile.