By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with ALLAN KISIA
Published on 2024-01-19 07:20:53
A report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu revealed that Kenya Utalii College awarded staff based on their period of service rather than their performance. The report showed that the college paid out a total of Sh4,000,000 as long service awards to all staff who had been in service for periods ranging from 10 to 35 years. However, the college’s Human Resource Policy, 2018, specifies that staff should be rewarded based on excellent performance, such as through bonus cash, a roll of honour, or a letter of commendation.
Gathungu also noted that the Public Service Performance Reward and Sanctions Frame Work specifically outlines long service awards as a reward for members of support staff who have completed 25 years of exemplary service. Yet, the college still chose to award all staff in monetary terms based on their period of service rather than their performance during the period ended June 30, 2022. This goes against the college’s own policies and the Public Service Performance Reward and Sanction Frame Work, making it difficult to determine the value for money in the scheme.
The report also highlighted that the college spent Sh3,678,625 on acting allowances for staff, with some individuals acting in their roles for more than five years. This constitutes a breach of the college’s human resource manual. What’s more, the college’s current liabilities stood at Sh5,611,170,057 against current assets of Sh1,252,912,547, resulting in a negative working capital of Sh4,358,257,510. This means that the college is technically insolvent and may not be able to meet its short-term obligations.
Gathungu also pointed out that the college suffered from underfunding and underexpenditure, which impacted the planned activities of the college and may have negatively affected service delivery to the public. The combination of these issues highlighted in the report calls for a closer examination of the college’s financial management and human resource practices to ensure that staff are appropriately rewarded for their performance and that the college is able to meet its financial obligations and deliver quality services to the public.
Read the original article on The Star


