KRA boss John Njiraini now 'in office illegally'
Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner-General John Njiraini addresses the Public Investment Committee at Parliament Buildings on March 29, 2018. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Ouko, in his audit report as at June 30, 2017, has also raised queries regarding the taxman’s expenditure of Sh3.7 billion.
KRA is also on the spot for failing to present for verification payment vouchers to support the expenditure of Sh777.2 million used on various projects.
Auditor general Edward Ouko says Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General John Njiraini is in office illegally, after he failed to go on terminal leave last year.
Mr Ouko, in his audit report as at June 30, 2017, has also raised queries regarding the taxman’s expenditure of Sh3.7 billion, saying there is no documentation to show that the funds were used prudently.
The report says that Mr Njiraini should have gone on terminal leave from September 4, 2017, pending his retirement in accordance with a government circular of November 23, 2010.
“This requirement has not been acted upon to date, and the board did not recommend that the commissioner-general proceed on terminal leave,” said the report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday last week by Majority Leader Aden Duale.
RENEWED NJIRAINI'S CONTRACT
In 2015, the board renewed Mr Njiraini’s contract for a three-year term, which and was supposed to end on March 4, 2018, but he did not take terminal leave as required.
An attempt by the board chaired by Dr Edward Sambili to have him go on leave was overturned by President Uhuru Kenyatta in May, after he sacked five of its members through a special gazette notice.
Besides Dr Sambili, the other board members kicked out were Mr Evans Kakai, Ms Constance Kandie, Mr Rashid Ali and Mr Abdi Barre Duale.
According to Mr Ouko, the Sh3.7 billion that cannot be accounted for does not include Sh1.6 billion of one-stop border post (OSBP) works in various parts of the country that were completed and included in the final land and building revaluation report. “The work in progress of Sh3.7 billion cannot be confirmed,” the report says.
VERIFICATION PAYMENT VOUCHERS
KRA is also on the spot for failing to present for verification payment vouchers to support the expenditure of Sh777.2 million used on various projects.
In addition, the authority omitted Sh45.9 million from its financial income statement in standards levy, concession fees, insurance deduction commission and merchant superintendent shipping levy (MSSL).
It declared only Sh1.8 billion to the auditors.
The omitted income came from the Kenya Bureau of Standards the Kenya Airports Authority, various insurance companies and the Kenya Maritime Authority.
KRA also failed to disclose Sh82.1 million in assets received as donations from development partners during the year under review, including three scanners from the Chinese government in 2015, and five vehicles from the Japan International Corporation Agency.
