CS Henry Rotich defends Ifmis over NYS saga

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich. He defended the government financial system at the centre of the National Youth Service hacking probe when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Ifmis was introduced to ensure transparency and accountability in procurement and payment in government.
  • Detectives from DCI headquarters have been on the case since June 5.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has defended the government financial system at the centre of the National Youth Service hacking probe.

Mr Rotich assured the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday that the Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (Ifmis) was robust and internationally tested.

“We would not have been able to detect the NYS issue (had it not been) for the efficient audit trail generated by Ifmis,” he said.

Ifmis was introduced to ensure transparency and accountability in procurement and payment in government.

The alleged hacking of government computers at the NYS is at the centre of a probe by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Detectives from DCI headquarters have been on the case since June 5.

Investigators have since established that the passwords of key officials were used to make illegal entries into NYS computer systems, which could have resulted in the theft of Sh695,400,000.

The Ministry of Devolution is at the centre of the controversy after the Central Bank queried the payment of tens of millions of shillings within a short time.

Devolution CS Anne Waiguru has since defended her ministry, saying officials detected an attempt to hack into the computers and authorise illegal payments of nearly Sh700 million.