Members of Parliament (MPs) have called for a special audit on JKUAT Enterprises Limited after flagging the awarding of dubious allowances to its Board members and discovering that the number of Board members failed to meet the required threshold.
The MPs, drawn from the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, directed the Auditor General to do a special audit on the running and management of the state corporation linked to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
Led by its Chair and Bumula MP Jack Wanani Wamboka, the Committee made the recommendation after the entity failed to provide documentation to show the list of its Board Members in order to answer an audit query on the unsupported Board expenses during the financial year 2022/23.
According to the Auditor’s reports, during the financial year, some Board Members were paid sitting allowances on various sittings within the year, but there was no record of appended signatures in the respective meetings' attendance register.
The report also noted that Board expenses records revealed a member not included in the list of Board Members who was included in the payment of Board allowances, and similarly, his appointment records were not provided.
“In addition, the appointment details of the representative from the National Treasury was dated 24 November 2017 with no indication of the ending period. Motor vehicle records and physical addresses of the members paid mileage allowances were also not provided for audit,” part of the Audit report on the Enterprise stated.
While responding to the query, Mr. Erastus Mvuria, the Enterprise CEO told the Committee that the criteria for the appointment of Board members is outlined in their Memorandum and Articles of Association, which designate specific position holders within the University as directors, including Council Chair, Vice Chancellor and all Deputy Vice Chancellors along with representatives from the National Treasury and the Ministry of Education.
“Some of the directors participated in the meeting remotely and, as a result, did not physically sign the attendance register. Nevertheless, their presence was recorded through the online system,” the CEO said.
Also, from the Auditor’s report of the period under review, the Enterprise only had five Board members out of the required eleven.
As per the MPs, the lack of adherence to the required number of Board Members translated to fraud on the part of the enterprise, noting that it also violated the Constitution. The Committee went on to demand a full list of the Board Members at the Enterprise.
The Auditor General’s report also indicated that there were inaccurate cash and bank balances and payments for works not done.
An instance of this was in the Inpo Factory Roof Project. The AG’s report noted that a physical inspection of the factory carried out on August 23, 2022, revealed that whereas the entire project cost had been paid, the change of the roof support from a wooden one to a metallic one had not been done.
As per the AG, the corporation could not provide clarity on the circumstances under which the entire project cost was paid with no work done.
JKUAT Enterprises acts as the commercial / enterprise arm of JKUAT: helping the University translate research into real products/services, linking academia with industry, government, and other stakeholders.
It mission, according to its website, is to "create and commercialize quality solutions and products through research, consulting, training, and innovation to transform individuals and institutions in Africa and beyond."
