New audit law hampers effective oversight of government, says Ouko

What you need to know:

  • Mr Ouko alluded to clauses touching on allocation of resources for the Auditor which now directly rests with Treasury as opposed to the National Assembly.

  • Section 42 of the Act states that the auditor “shall not question the merits of a policy objective of the national government or county government or any other public entity.”

  • The new law is set to be operationalised by the Auditor General’s office.

The auditor-general on Thursday warned yet again that transparency and fiscal responsibility on the part of Government has been dealt a blow with the new public audit law.

Auditor-General Edward Ouko reiterated that sections of the law assented to by President Uhuru Kenyatta late last year will hurt his work.

“They may limit our effectiveness significantly…they take us back many years in terms of enhancing our ability to enforce accountability,” said Mr Ouko.

Mr Ouko alluded to clauses touching on allocation of resources for the Auditor which now directly rests with Treasury as opposed to the National Assembly and also some requirements for probe of state offices.

Section 8 of the Act stipulates that the auditor-general shall only exercise its administrative powers “in relation to disciplinary control of human capital compliment to the extent that it is permissible by the Public Service Commission.”

Section 42 of the Act states that the auditor “shall not question the merits of a policy objective of the national government or county government or any other public entity.”

The law sought to align the functions and powers of the auditor-general to the Constitution.

It defines the roles of the auditor-general in undertaking audit activities in state organs and public entities to ensure prudent use of public money in conformity with the Authority to Incur Expenditure.

The new law is set to be operationalised by the Auditor General’s office.

Mr Ouko was addressing journalists in Naivasha during a capacity building workshop for the media organised by the Office of the Auditor General in collaboration with Gesellshaft fur International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) a German agency.

Mr Ouko revealed a plan by his office to partner with “Kenyans of goodwill” and civil society to flag cases of misuse of state funds through social media.

“Individuals of repute and civil service will be my eyes and ears on the ground. I want to partner with civil society and people who are genuinely concerned (on fighting graft) through social media and this will enable us litter the country with county specific reports,” he said.

He added of the plan: “This is a game changing element in how we will work hence forth. In so doing we hope not only to bring the accountability to the people but that future reports are likely to change our democratic space.”