- The ultra-modern library and moot court project was awarded to a contractor at a cost of Sh488.7 million and commenced on June 24, 2013
- The construction period was three years and the project was expected to be completed by September 2016
Image: ENOS TECHE
An audit has flagged millions spent by the Kenya School of Law on the construction of a library and a moot court.
It has since emerged that KSL has so far paid Sh358 million on the project that started in June 2013 but is yet to be completed.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu said it was not possible to ascertain that value was obtained for the expenditure incurred.
The ultra-modern library and moot court project was awarded to a contractor at a cost of Sh488.7 million and commenced on June 24, 2013.
The construction period was three years and the project was to be completed by September 2016.
“Physical inspection and verification of the progress of works however revealed that although the contractor was still on site, the works had not been completed, seven years after the expected completion period,” Gathungu said.
She fingered the management for not providing the site inspection and meeting minutes between the contractor, the schools management and the project manager for audit verification.
“Further, no proper justification was made by the contractor for the delayed completion of the Moot Courts,” Gathungu said.
“In the circumstances, it was not possible to confirm that the school obtained economy and efficiency from the expenditure of Sh358,771,054 incurred on the project,” the auditor stated.
Further, the auditor general has questioned payments of damages to the contractor.
The audit for the period to June 30, 2023, revealed that Sh7.2 million was paid out as liquidated damages on June 14, 2023, for the ultra-modern library and moot court.
The report shows that the damages were computed at a rate of Sh400,000 per week for 18 weeks.
“It was not clear why a project behind schedule is paid for liquidated damages instead of being penalised for delayed completion and why despite the extension granted the project has not been completed and handed over to the school, 12 years from its inception,” the auditor said.
“In the circumstances, there was no economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of the services to be offered by the Moot Court to the citizens.”
Auditors also established that the management did not submit bank reconciliation statements of the accounts held at Absa Bank, Equity Bank and Coop Bank to the National Treasury for the year under review.
Regulation 90(1) of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015 requires that accounting officers provide statements for all accounts they operate.
“In the circumstances, management was in breach of the law,” Gathungu said.
Also flagged is an irregular renewal of medical insurance at Sh23 million.
The advertisement that called for the insurers revealed that the insurance service advertised for was for one year.
However, the contract with the insurance firm provided that the duration of contract was from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, with a remark that the contract was renewable for one-year subject to satisfactory performance.
“Therefore, the renewal in the year 2022/2023 contravened Article 227 of the constitution which requires a system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective,” Gathungu said.
KSL board of directors is also on the spot for holding meetings beyond the set cap.
While government directives provided for six meetings each financial year, the board held 30 meetings during the year under review – both for ordinary and special board meetings.
“The meetings were held contrary to Circular no. REF: OP/CAB.9/1A dated March 11, 2020, part A on board meetings (2) and (3) which states for avoidance of doubt, the board meetings shall be restricted to a minimum of four and capped at a maximum of six for each financial year,” the auditor said.
“No approval for the extra board meetings by the relevant Cabinet Secretary, in consultation with SCAC was provided for audit verification. In the circumstances, management was in breach of the law.”
Management was also called out after it turned out it had not resolved the issues or given any explanations for failure to implement the recommendations in past audit queries.
The school also failed to remit value added tax to the tune of Sh26 million during the year under review, contrary to the law.
Section 44(1) of Value Added Tax Act, 2013 (Revised 2021) requires VAT to be paid not later than the 20th day after the end of that period.
“In the circumstances, management was in breach of the law,” Gathungu said.