This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has nominated Nancy Gathungu as the next Auditor-General, a move that comes as a relief to listed public-owned entities and their shareholders who have been waiting for Parliament to vet her.
Ms Gathungu, who is currently the director of audit (quality assurance) in the Office of the Auditor-General, will have a daunting task ahead of her, with a long to-do list awaiting her at the Kenya National Audit Office.
Since former Auditor-General Edward Ouko left office in August 2019, there has been a pile-up of unsigned audit reports at the Kenya National Audit Office, with the existing law not allowing for an acting Auditor-General.
Transparency International-Kenya executive director Sheila Masinde noted that the delays in filling the position have impeded accountability efforts, and the new office-bearer needs to ensure that pending reports are quickly but diligently dispensed.
Ms Gathungu will have just two months to clear the current backlog and then turn her attention to the next cycle of holding the government to account for public funds.
She will also have to address the concerns of the Public Accounts Committee, which expects her to release the 2018/19 reports and other special audits, including those on land compensation for the Standard Gauge Railway and on the Ministry of Defence’s procurement of food.
