This archive report was first published on 11 November 2019.
Kenya's Central Bank is facing a significant delay in submitting its financial report to Parliament, a situation attributed to the ongoing vacancy in the office of the Auditor-General.
According to a letter written by Acting Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani to National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi on October 24, 2019, the bank is unable to submit certified financial statements for the year 2018/2019 due to the absence of a substantive Auditor-General.
As a result, the bank is also unable to publish its 2018/2019 Annual Report, as required under Section 55 of the CBK Act.
Section 81 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012 requires the accounting officer of a national government entity to submit the financial statements to the Auditor-General amongst other constitutional offices and publicise the financial statements within three months after the end of each financial year.
The position of the Auditor-General has been vacant since August 2019, following the exit of Edward Ouko, who warned that all unsigned audit reports would have to wait for the appointment of a new office holder to be legally binding.
Mr. Yatani has requested the House to extend the time limit for the CBK to submit certified financial statements and annual report.
Speaker Muturi has referred the request to the Public Investments Committee for consideration, calling it a precedent-setting request.
