Education Ministry on the spot over Sh1.9 Covid-19 desks
The Education Ministry has been exposed for paying its officials at the head office Sh10.2 million per day in subsistence allowance to monitor desk distribution in counties despite having local officials on the ground.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has questioned why staff from the headquarters were paid hefty allowances to monitor the distribution of desks and lockers, despite the fact that the State Department has offices in all counties and local staff could have been used at minimal or no cost.
Ms Gathungu also claims that the Education Ministry acquired and paid for desks worth Sh1.9 billion during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She claims that the money received from the Treasury was spent on school infrastructure, protocols established by the Health Ministry on social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and stimulating the economy by providing jobs to local artisans.
She stated that the State Department hired artisans to supply 70 desks and 50 lockers to each selected primary and secondary school.
Ms Gathungu stated that no details on how the needs assessment was identified were provided, and that social distancing in secondary schools could not have been achieved by increasing the number of lockers without increasing the number of classrooms or student population.
“This expenditure of Sh10,214,400 was therefore against Section 79(2b) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012 which states that a public officer employed in a national government state organ or public entity should ensure that resources within the officer’s area of responsibility are used in a way that is lawful and authorised and is effective, efficient, economical and transparent,” she said.
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According to Ms Gathungu, no explanation was provided for the use of a private application rather than the Integrated Financial Management and Information System (Ifmis), which is the national payment system under the Public Financial Management Act of 2012.
Education Ministry on the spot over Sh1.9 Covid-19 desks
