JKUAT Faces Investigation Over Ksh68.8 Million Scandal
The Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education has launched investigations against Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) regarding a Ksh68.8 million scandal. The Committee has questioned the Vice Chancellor of JKUAT, Prof Victoria Ngumi, regarding the stalled construction of a perimeter wall despite the issuance of the contract in 2012.
The Chair of the Committee, Bumula MP Jack Wamboka Wanami, queried why the project had not proceeded despite the contracted firm receiving Ksh50.7 million.
“An audit revealed that, by January 2020, the project had only progressed up to the foundation level, even though Ksh 50,698,799 had already been paid,” the statement read in part.
The Committee will carry out additional inquiries into the delayed construction of various projects on May 2, 2023, at the JKUAT Main Campus.
The Committee will also assess the progress of the construction of an administration block and a water bottling plant at the Juja Campus. Prof Ngumi was also questioned on the payment of Ksh3.9 million found to have been paid to four officers who had already left the institution at the time of the audit.
In addition, the Committee summoned Technical University of Kenya (TUK) VC Prof Francis Oduol to answer questions on the institution’s inability to meet its financial obligations.
In the year ending 2019, TUK was unable to make various payments such as payroll deductions, insurance premium deductions, bank loan deductions, Sacco deductions, and other statutory obligations, amounting to Ksh1.58 billion. Oduol explained that the funds received for the current financial year were less than the funds required for their payroll.
The TUK boss was also grilled over the salary paid to a staff member who went on study leave for two years before the management noticed. The Committee resolved that the Head of Human Resources be held accountable for the mistake.
Furthermore, the university don was asked to verify the correctness of rental expenses amounting to Ksh858,000 that could not be verified. Notably, the Committee summoned TUK boss to reappear before it for a second round of questioning on Thursday, May 4, 2023. Oduol will appear before the Committee on May 4, 2023, to provide evidence on all pending matters.
JKUAT Faces Investigation Over Ksh68.8 Million Scandal
