Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director Captain William Ruto was put on the spot on Tuesday after a report from the Auditor General's Office raised questions over the agency's spending.
The National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy led by Pokot South MP David Pkosing took the official to task over audit queries in the agency's accounts for the financial years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.
It is important to note that while Captain William Ruto faced scrutiny over the expenditures, he wasn't in charge of the state agency during that period. He assumed the role of MD in March 2023 after being appointed by Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, succeeding John Mwangemi who held the position in acting capacity.
Among the questions the MPs wanted answered by the KPA management included why the agency paid some 1,337 employees who worked for eight hours a day overtime allowances amounting to Ksh 214.6 million.
The legislators also sought answers regarding the validity of establishment expenses amounting to Ksh1.9 billion after the Auditor General questioned the spending since it wasn't supported by relevant documents.
In the same vein, committee members asked tough questions regarding the accuracy and validity of waivers totaling Ksh242 million and why the agency could not account for Ksh 6.1 million storage containers' revenue.
Committee Chairperson, MP Pkosing, pushed Captain Ruto to provide a copy of the authority's policy document on waivers to confirm the Managing Director's claim that due diligence was done while awarding the waivers under scrutiny.
"Without that document, we cannot make any progress to account for this figure," MP Pkosing said during the session.
The committee also scrutinized the Auditor General's revelations that KPA could not fully account for license fees totaling Ksh92.6 Million by the close of the financial year 2019/2020.
In his defense, Captain Ruto explained that the validation process involved making the requests in writing.
He explained that the information was captured in a Customer Notice which highlighted guidelines on the waiver handling procedure.
Consequently, Pkosing directed the Office of the Auditor General to furnish the committee with documentation on how much KPA could have lost through the said irregular payments within two weeks.
The committee also directed the Auditor General's office to provide details on what action KPA had instituted to bring the culprits to book.
