This archive report was first published on 28 October 2021.
Thursday, October 28, 2021, marked the beginning of a lifestyle audit at Kenya Power, a move aimed at rooting out corruption and financial impropriety within the company.
The audit, which is part of the recommendations of a task force appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta, targets the weeding out of rogue employees and contractors involved in financial impropriety.
According to sources, the first phase of the exercise will cover the executive team at Kenya Power and later extend to the rest of the firm's more than 10,000 workers.
The Kenya Electrical Trades and Allied Workers Union (Ketawu), which represents Kenya Power workers, has confirmed the commencement of the lifestyle audit and urged for impartiality.
“We fully support the lifestyle audit and urge management to remain fair as it promised. Everyone should be open to scrutiny,” Ernest Nadome, Ketawu secretary-general, said.
The ongoing audit is part of the recommendations of a task force appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to look into the woes that saw the utility firm post a net loss of Sh2.98 billion in the financial year ended June 2020 — its first in 17 years — despite the huge potential for profitability.
The task force recommended that all Kenya Power employees be vetted afresh for integrity, suitability, and qualification for the jobs they hold.
“Use wealth declarations to verify unexplained wealth and this should be initiated through the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to secure assurance of this value ideal,” the task force said.
The task force, which was chaired by Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) boss John Ngumi, has also recommended an overhaul of the procurement department.
“KPLC board replace (redeploy, redesignate, redundancy) all the staff in the entire procurement department and recruit new staff. In the interim, KPLC to outsource procurement to other government agencies with demonstrated experience in procurement of certain high-quality engineering equipment and machinery,” said the task force.
