Page 13 - AfrElec Week 43 2022
P. 13
AfrElec ESKOM AfrElec
Probe unearths $20mn
in irregular spending by
Kenya Power
KENYA KENYA’S Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu KES860mn on system reinforcement, trace
has tasked management of state utility Kenya maintenance, and transformer repairs while
Power and Lighting Company Plc (KPLC) to another KES1.2bn for staff cost deficit by the end
explain how it used KES2bn ($16.7mn) last year of June, according to Business Daily.
without the approval of the National Treasury, She also revealed that, during the period, the
Business Daily reports. state corporation spent KES167.6bn against the
The news follows the sacking of five execu- approved budget of KES146.2bn, which repre-
tives at the Nairobi-listed state-backed firm to sents over-expenditure of about KES9.9bn.
pave the way for investigations after a forensic There were other irregularities discov-
audit on purchase systems, stocks and staff dis- ered which include over valuation of tender
covered irregularities tied to flawed tenders. prices. For instance, the tender fo quoted a
Gathungu, who also doubted the compe- price of KES10,846,470 but the tender evalua-
tence of 36 employees hired by KPLC last year tion committee amended the quoted price to
without due process, expressed concern over the KES11,036,759 among others.
company’s irregular procurement of goods and Gathungu also raised an issue of failure by
services. the company to raise claims of compensation
According to the Auditor-General, about by its insurers for lost items. During the period,
KES2bn was spent on May 4 using a supplemen- the company’s stolen materials were valued at
tary budget that was approved by the compa- KES8mn but only KES42,178 compensations
ny’s board, instead of the National Treasury as were received from the insurers.
required by law.
Her report revealed that the KPLC used
Week 43 26•October•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13
