Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) has once again come under scrutiny after Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu reported that the top bosses at the center spent Ksh6.8 million that cannot be accurately accounted for.
The Auditor-General revealed serious breaches of protocol and fund misuse by KICC bosses who spent the money while attending a trip to Mauritius for an award ceremony where KICC had been named Africa’s leading meeting and conferences destination.
KICC had sent a delegate of 20 board members and staff to represent Kenya in the World Travel Award (WTA), a number that the Auditor-General took exception with.
Gathungu in her audit report indicated that the Ksh6.8 million spent to cover the trip by the representatives was not only exorbitant but that the number of people sent was too big.
“It is not clear why the corporation incurred such high expenses in sending a huge delegation of staff members in a single award ceremony when fewer members could have represented the KICC adequately and reduce such expenses,” revealed the AG.
KICC was also put in the spotlight for sending Khs1,506,639 to an unnamed accountant who was not even part of those who traveled to the award ceremony in Mauritius.
"The said person was not a board member nor was he among the staff nominated to represent the corporation in the award ceremony,” said the AG in the report.
KICC board members are also reported to have been paid their per diem in cash rather than through their bank accounts, adding that no evidence is there to show that the members reported receipt of the money as is procedurally required.
KICC's woes continued to mount as they were also recently flagged by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), revealing that KICC had a debt amounting to Ksh450.58 million in taxes.
The debt revealed by Gathungu in an audit report released in Parliament showed that KRA demanded the pending tax amount, which included Ksh14.1 million pending tax which KICC failed to pay in the 2018/19 financial year.
Despite the many irregularities and financial scandals attached to the center, KICC has managed to rank as Africa’s leading meeting and conferences destination in the years 2019 and 2020.
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