Audit: Sh19m system fails as fake TVETs thrive

The review of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority for the financial year ending June 30, 2023, has also cited instances of financial mess and abuse of procurement laws.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu revealed the authority mandated to oversee the institutions does not have a proper register of the same.

She said her review revealed the TVET Authority did not maintain a compliance register to check whether the institutions and trainers were operating with active licences.

Technical and Vocational Education Training Act, 2013 requires that the authority maintains a register detailing the accredited institutions.

The register is expected to have particulars of trainers registered and licensed under the Act.

“In the circumstances, the management was in breach of the law,” Gathungu said.

In a turn for the worse, an information system that cost taxpayers Sh19 million to sort the mess has equally failed.

It emerges the management information system the authority acquired in 2022 through a partnership with the Netherlands Organisation for International Corporation in Higher Learning is not working well.

Gathungu said an examination and technical testing of the system with ICT staff revealed it could not generate a report of registered institutions’ annual returns.

The system cannot provide a register of accredited institutions registered in a particular period that the public can inspect.

“In the circumstances, the effectiveness of the system in supporting the authority to realise its objective could not be confirmed,” the auditor general said.

The audit tabled in Parliament further unearthed irregularities in procurement of goods and services.

Administration expenses to the tune of Sh13 million was not supported, with the auditor saying the regularity of the entire expenditure of Sh91 million was in doubt.

“The amount includes fuel and lubricants expenditure of Sh7.7 million which further include an amount of Sh6 million that was not supported with contract agreements,” Gathungu said.

“In the circumstances, the regularity and accuracy of administrative expenditure of Sh91,267,974 could not be confirmed,” the report reads.

On procurement, the audit has cast doubt on a payment of Sh7.4 million that was made to unknown 10 suppliers.

Gathungu said her review established that the suppliers “were neither registered nor in the approved list of pre-qualified suppliers.”

The procurement law requires accounting officers to give the request for quotations to persons registered by a procuring entity as suppliers.

Purchases of laptops, air tickets, procurement of conferences, furniture, car tracking and insurance services have also been red-flagged.

It has since emerged the items were procured through request for quotations method.

Gathungu said there was no professional opinion by the head of procurement as required by the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.

It requires the head of procurement to review a tender evaluation report and provide a signed professional opinion.

The opinion is submitted to the accounting officer, alongside the report of the evaluation committee on the procurement proceedings.

Gathungu further cited Sh5.4 million, which was paid to two companies for provision of return air tickets.

“The request for quotations for the service was not provided for audit,” she said, concluding that taxpayers may have not gotten value for money on the Sh91 million administration expenses by the authority.

TVET Authority, according to the audit, has a deficiency in its membership of the board.

There were only three members out of the required nine during the time of the audit.

“In the circumstances, the effectiveness of the board in providing the oversight and advisory services could not be confirmed.”

Besides directors, the authority was also found with an excruciating shortage of staff.

Whereas it was to operate with 120 employees, only 68 were on board, meaning a shortage of 72 staffers.

“Shortage of staff results to non-achievement of the operational goals set by the authority. In addition, the existing staffs are likely to be overworked and become less productive,” Gathungu said.

“In the circumstances, the effectiveness of the existing staff to realise the strategic objectives of the authority could not be confirmed.”