Speaker Hon. (Dr). Rt. Moses Wetang’ula has urged Committees to prioritize the examination of performance audit reports and table their respective findings for consideration by the House as appropriate.

Speaker Wetang’ula directed Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Samuel Njoroge to circulate the performance audit reports received from the Office of the Auditor-General to the respective Departmental Committees and other relevant Committees for consideration.

The performance audit reports cover various sectors including Agriculture, Rural and Urban Development; Health; Education; Environment, Protection, Water, and Natural Resources; Social Protection, Culture, and Recreation.

Other areas covered include Governance, Justice, Law and Order; Energy, Infrastructure, and ICT; General Economic and Commercial Affairs; Public Administration and International Relations; and Finance.

“These reports are critical in the examination of the efficiency and effectiveness of our public resource utilization and are meant to advise public entities on areas of improvement to ensure prudence in public finance management,” the Speaker said.

Citing a letter he received from the Office of the Auditor-General, the Speaker said the letter indicated that 63 performance audit reports have been submitted to the National Assembly since 2012. However, he said, only one such report has been considered by the House over this period.

“This performance is dismal and calls into question the prioritization of these reports by Committees of the House,” he said.

The Office of the Auditor-General is one of the independent offices established by the Constitution and is mandated to, inter alia, audit and report on the accounts of all public entities in accordance with Article 229 of the Constitution.

In addition, Section 36 of the Public Audit Act, 2015 requires the Office of the Auditor-General to conduct performance audits for the purpose of examining the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditure by public institutions.