A parliamentary watchdog committee has warned heads of public universities and technical institutions against treating audit processes as a routine exercise, saying accounting officers entrusted with taxpayers' money must uphold the highest standards of transparency, accountability and prudent financial management.
The National Assembly's Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education (PIC-G&E) said reports by the Auditor-General are critical oversight tools designed to promote accountability in the use of public resources and should be taken seriously by all public institutions.
Committee Chairperson Dick Maungu said the audit process is intended to establish whether public funds have been utilised for their intended purposes and to identify areas requiring corrective action where weaknesses are detected.
“The Auditor-General's reports are not prepared in vain. They are meant to demonstrate whether public funds have been properly utilised. Where there are gaps, they must be explained and corrective measures taken,” said Maungu.
Maungu spoke on Tuesday as the committee commenced the examination of the Auditor-General's reports covering the 2018/19 to 2024/25 financial years for several state institutions in the education sector.
The institutions that appeared before the committee were the Multimedia University of Kenya, the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, Naivasha Technical and Vocational College, Gilgil Technical and Vocational College, Sot Technical Training Institute and Gitwebe Technical Training Institute.
He urged accounting officers and heads of institutions to embrace accountability by providing comprehensive responses to audit queries and ensuring public resources are managed prudently.
Maungu said Parliament would continue exercising its constitutional oversight role to safeguard public funds and ensure institutions implement recommendations arising from audit reports.
Committee member Boyd Were echoed the chairperson's sentiments, cautioning accounting officers against handling audit matters casually.
Were said institutions have both a legal and moral obligation to account for every shilling entrusted to them, noting that prompt and satisfactory responses to audit findings are essential in strengthening public confidence in public institutions.
“The committee expects full cooperation from all accounting officers. Audit queries should be addressed comprehensively because accountability is at the heart of good governance,” said Were.
The committee is expected to continue scrutinising the audit reports to determine whether the institutions complied with public finance management laws, procurement regulations and other statutory requirements governing the utilisation of public resources.