Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has flagged yet another scandal at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
According to a report by Gathungu, KPA bought locally made uniform for staffs and overalls but declared them as imported from Canada.
KPA claimed they procured the overalls from Canada at KSh 6,475 when they purchased the items locally for KSh 2,325.
However, in a report to the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee (PIC), the Auditor-General said the overalls that KPA received had a local manufacturer’s label.
Gathungu also noted that KPA did not provide shipment documents known as Import Declaration Forms (IDF) to prove that the items were imported.
“Physical verification of the items revealed that the overalls received had a local manufacturer’s label
“Further, importation documents (Import Declaration Forms) to confirm that the high visibility overalls were from Canada were not availed for audit review,” Gathungu said in the report.
After investigations into the claims, PIC which is chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir concluded that the overalls were made locally.
“Clearly, there was no contractual or legal obligation to request for any importation documents
“In absence of the evidence of importing the impugned uniforms, the committee could not arrive at a contrary conclusion from the audit observation,” Nassir said.
Following the findings, the PIC has called on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Authority (EACC) to probe the procurement and prefer charges on people found culpable.
Further, the MPs found that KPA overpaid the suppliers by KSh 30,129,000 for the procured overalls.
KPA bought 7,260 the overalls costing KSh 47,008,500 at a unit cost of KSh 6,475.
The agency spent a total of KSh 354,579,000 in respect of uniforms and clothing, out of which KSh 86,029,240 was in respect of uniforms and staff protective equipment.