This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
On July 8, 2020, the Public Investment Service (PIC) demanded that 12 former Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) board members refund Sh100,000 each received as Christmas shopping vouchers in 2017.
The demand was made while PIC was reviewing the audited financial statements for 48 State corporations, including the CA.
According to PIC Chair Abdulswamad Nassir, the CA's acting director-general, Mercy Wanjau, should also surcharge the Universal Service Advisory Council members who were given Christmas shopping vouchers worth Sh900,000.
Mr. Nassir stated that the payments to directors must still be set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), despite the Kenya Information Communications Act (KICA) Act 2012 giving the board a mandate to pay salaries, allowances, and other charges to the authority's staff and directors.
Former Auditor-General Edward Ouko had flagged the irregular expenditure in the CA's books of accounts in the financial year 2016/2017, stating that the payments totalling Sh2.1 million were made without the approval of the parent ministry and the Treasury.
The case is related to the CA's directors being accused of benefiting from irregular disposal of MacBook laptops and iPads, with the High Court set to rule on their fate.
