Audit flags Sh19m upkeep allowance for KCAA official

AUDITOR-GENERAL EDWARD OUKO. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By EDWIN MUTAI

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Summary

• Auditor-General Edward Ouko says in his latest report on the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) that the payments made to the official while at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council were in breach of official guidelines on subsistence allowances.
• Foreign Service Regulations stipulate that an officer is eligible for subsistence allowance up to a maximum of 30 days or obtain prior permission from the principal secretary [for the relevant ministry] to exceed 30 days.
• The audit also questions the agency’s decision to allocate a vehicle registration number KCD 416G to the KCAA board chairman, citing the fact that there was no such provision in his appointment letter.
• The report also revisits unresolved matters in the previous years, including the construction of a perimeter wall at the East African School of Aviation at an estimated cost of Sh1,290,540.
• The project, mooted in 2011, entailed fencing of 400 metres of the school’s perimeter boundary and site clearance.

Kenya’s aviation industry regulator irregularly paid a senior official seconded for foreign service duty Sh19.4 million in subsistence allowance in nine months, raising serious queries on the agency’s spending.

Auditor-General Edward Ouko says in his latest report on the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) that the payments made to the official while at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council were in breach of official guidelines on subsistence allowances.

“An officer of the authority on secondment to the International Civil Aviation Organisation Council was paid a total of Sh19,425,018 subsistence allowance between August 2014 and April 2015,” Mr Ouko says in the audit report dated April 11, 2017 and submitted to Parliament.

Foreign Service Regulations stipulate that an officer is eligible for subsistence allowance up to a maximum of 30 days or obtain prior permission from the principal secretary [for the relevant ministry] to exceed 30 days.

“Although the management has explained that the officer was paid per diem for more than 30 days due to unavailability of suitable accommodation, no prior approval was given for the payment obtained from the permanent [or principal] secretary, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure,” Mr Ouko says in a qualified audit opinion of KCAA’s books of accounts for the year to June 2016.

The audit also questions the agency’s decision to allocate a vehicle registration number KCD 416G to the KCAA board chairman, citing the fact that there was no such provision in his appointment letter.

A review of motor vehicle records revealed that the chairman’s office was assigned the Toyota Prado vehicle on a full-time basis and that in the period from July 2015 to June 2016, the vehicle covered 34,360 km and utilised 4,599 litres of diesel valued at Sh412,596.

“There  is no provision for allocation of a vehicle to the chairman of the board of directors in his appointment letter and therefore it has not been possible to confirm the propriety of the expenditure totalling Sh412,596 incurred on fuelling the vehicle,” Mr Ouko says.

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The report also revisits unresolved matters in the previous years, including the construction of a perimeter wall at the East African School of Aviation at an estimated cost of Sh1,290,540.

The project, mooted in 2011, entailed fencing of 400 metres of the school’s perimeter boundary and site clearance. The wall was to prevent trespassers.

“However, the school did not procure the work competitively, but single-sourced materials and hired casuals to build the wall. This resulted in a significant budget overrun,” Mr Ouko says.

Payment vouchers relating to the project revealed that Sh8,157,060 had been incurred as at June 2014.

“To date, the management has not explained their failure to use open tendering as required under the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005. In addition, no plausible reasons have been provided for the budget overrun and failure to complete the project,” Mr Ouko says.