Why Auditor General is probing Sh244m Afcon windfall
What you need to know:
- The PS had appeared before the committee to respond to an accusation by sports federations which have accused him of having an unresponsive attitude in their requests for funding
- When they appeared before the committee last month, the federations talked of bad blood with the PS and that he is always threatening them
- On Thursday, the chairman of the committee Victor Munyaka asked the PS to explain his altercation with FKF over the funds
The Office of the Auditor General is investigating how Football Kenya Federation used the Sh244 million it received to cater for the national football team Harambee Stars' preparation for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Sports PS Kirimi Kaberia revealed on Thursday that the federation had submitted a report on the expenditure. He said the Ministry of Sports found the report unsatisfactory, forcing the government to seek the intervention of the auditor general.
“FKF gave us their report and we sent it back with questions,” the PS said on Thursday when he appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Sports.
“We have passed the same report to the Office of the Auditor General to look at it and give us their opinion on the expenditure figures reflected in the document.”
The PS had appeared before the committee to respond to an accusation by sports federations which have accused him of having an unresponsive attitude in their requests for funding from the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.
When they appeared before the committee last month, the federations talked of bad blood with the PS and that he is always threatening them. They said the PS rarely finds time to listen to their grievances and hear them out.
They argued that the failure by the PS to respond to their requests has affected the way they plan their programmes and interfered with the national teams’ preparation and eventual participation in international competitions.
By virtue of his position as the PS, Kaberia is the administrator of the Fund whose key objective is to help in the development of sports and sports facilities.
In the run up to the Afcon tournament hosted in Egypt, the government allocated FKF Sh244 million for preparations and emoluments for players and technical staff.
On Thursday, the chairman of the committee Victor Munyaka asked the PS to explain his altercation with FKF over the funds.
“The report FKF provided had issues with accountability and the auditor is in the process of looking at the documents. I plead with the committee to allow the office to carry out the process so that we can give you factual information," the PS said.
He further pleaded with the committee to organise another meeting where the ministry will delve on issues concerning FKF away from the cameras after the recent controversy surrounding Harambee Starlets in their Olympic qualifier was the subject of a heated argument between the federation and the Fund.
“Let’s hold another session and go through FKF issues. Probably away from the cameras and you will realise that there is a law governing the use of the money in the Fund. The accusations were not based on facts,” requested Kaberia.
