- Past procurements of an external auditor for the office of auditor general have been wrought with claims of conflict of interest
- MPs voted in plenary on Thursday and approved the appointment of the firm as the auditor for the office of the auditor general
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Taxpayers will pay Sh6 million more to the firm hired by Parliament to review the books of the auditor general in the next three financial years.
PKF Kenya was awarded the tender at Sh25.5 million, beating its only competition Nelson and Francis LLP.
This is the second time the firm is winning the tender. In the previous tender for the period covering fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22, it quoted Sh19 million.
PKF won the new tender for the period covering 2022-23 to 2024-25 after scoring 84 per cent, way above the pass mark of 75 per cent.
“A notification of intention to enter into a contract was issued to PKF Kenya LLP and accepted on July 5. There was no appeal from the other bidder within the prescribed period,” the report signed by PAC vice chairman Tindi Mwale reads.
PKF will also audit Office of the Auditor General’s mortgage and car loan scheme from the financial year ending 2023 to the year ending June 30, 2025.
MPs voted in plenary on Thursday and approved the appointment of the firm as the auditor for the office of the auditor general.
“PKF Kenya LLP met all the preliminary and mandatory requirements and therefore proceeded to the technical stage of evaluation. It was responsive to the same having scored above the set pass mark of 75 per cent,” the report reads.
The request for proposals tender had provided that only bids that scored above the set pass mark of 75 per cent were to proceed to the financial evaluation stage.
PFK charged Sh22 million for audit services for the OAG main accounts and Sh2.9 million for the mortgage and car loan scheme for the assigned years.
Nelson and Francis LLP, the report reveals, was knocked out on grounds including lack of tax compliance certificate.
“The tax compliance certificate was invalid upon verification in the TCC checker online. The status of the certificate indicated withdrawn,” the committee said.
It also emerged that the firm’s certificate of independent proposal determination was not duly signed and stamped.
MPs further locked out Nelson and Francis LLP on grounds it did not present a duly signed and stamped self-declaration form and that it was not debarred from public procurement.
Its declaration of no record of corruption was also not duly stamped and signed as required, the same as the declaration and commitment to the code of ethics.
“Nelson and Francis LLP was disqualified at the mandatory evaluation stage,” PAC reported.
“The committee satisfied itself that due process was followed and resolved to recommend to the National Assembly the approval of the award to PKF Kenya pursuant to Article 226 (4) of the Constitution,” Mwale said.
Article 226 (4) of the Constitution provides that the accounts of the office of auditor general should be audited and reported on by a professionally qualified accountant appointed by the National Assembly.
The tender, usually characterised by intense lobbying, received little interest compared to the past bids, considering that PKF had only one competitor for the multimillion-shilling bid.
In the last tender, at least eight firms including EKV&Associate, BDO East Africa Kenya, Kigo Njenga&Co, Kiarie Kangethe&Co, Bakey Tilly, Mazars LLP and Ambale Ogot& Company LLP came forth to bid.
They were beaten by PKF which pulled a 79 per cent rating at the initial evaluation stages.
Past procurements of an external auditor for the office of auditor general have been wrought with claims of conflict of interest.
In 2019, Parliament was unable to recruit an auditor for OAG after MPs raised concerns of conflict of interest. The search had begun in 2016.