Assembly team faults IFMIS, asks CS Rotich for audit
What you need to know:
The committee, in a report tabled in the House on Wednesday, faulted the introduction of IFMIS, saying it had not helped in preventing misuse of public funds.
- Challenges facing the system have continuously been brought to the attention of Mr Rotich but no action has been taken.
A National Assembly committee wants the government's electronic procurement system, IFMIS, audited and its effectiveness analysed.
The Public Accounts Committee has directed National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to conduct an independent audit of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and provide a detailed cost-benefit analysis of its effectiveness.
NOT HELPFUL
The committee, in a report tabled in the House on Wednesday, faulted the introduction of IFMIS, saying it had not helped in preventing misuse of public funds.
“Most importantly, the audit should provide a detailed Cost Benefit Analysis for assessing the effectiveness of the system vis-à-vis the actual investment on IFMIS to date,” reads the report.
“The committee noted that this system has not improved financial management in government. Accounting officers have confessed to the unhelpfulness of the system, and the auditor-general himself said the system has not improved financial tracking and reporting,” reads the report tabled by Ugunja lawmaker Opiyo Wandayi.
According to the report, the Public Finance Management financial statements and record keeping is still riddled with basic anomalies such as miss-posting in the IFMIS general ledger.
“The data back up by the Directorate of IFMIS is also wanting since the redundant system is yet to be fully implemented,” reads the report.
CHALLENGES
In last year’s report, the committee noted that Treasury reported that they had re-engineered IFMIS and trained up to 6,000 personnel on its use.
However, the challenges facing the system have been continuously brought to the attention of Mr Rotich by the accounting officers with no action taken.
“The committee was further informed that the certificate for ownership of the IFMIS software still rests with the supplier and therefore the country has no exclusive rights to ownership and improvement,” adds the report.
The indictment of the system by the committee confirms fears by other stakeholders including governors who have been complaining that the system is ineffective.
The county bosses have on several occasions complained that the system was not helping instil discipline in the use of public funds.
Trade Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya when he was chairman of the Council of Governors stated that IFMIS was a rushed decision and there was need to review it to ensure it is not used to siphon public funds yet it was expected to help tackle graft.
