The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called for a forensic audit of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) payroll following accusations of irregularities in the payment system for teachers.
In a session chaired by Nominated Member of Parliament John Mbadi on February 20, 2024, the Committee emphasized the need for a thorough forensic audit to uncover and eliminate any malpractices within the TSC.
This is after a report by the Auditor indicated that the Commission overpaid salaries of over Ksh466 million during the financial year 2021/2022.
“As disclosed in Note 9 to the financial statements, the statement of assets and liabilities reflects accounts receivables balance of Ksh852,488,748 which includes an amount of Ksh466,892,922 in respect of salary overpayment,” the report read in part.
MPs raised concerns on why the teachers commission has failed in two subsequent years to address overpayments questioning whether TSC officials were colluding to steal from the public coffers.
“If we feel there’s a problem with TSC payroll system, nothing stops us from calling for a forensic audit to understand it and call for a review,” Mbadi.
TSC Boss Concerns Over the Loss
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, while meeting the committee expressed concerns over potential financial losses resulting from fraudulent activities perpetrated by corrupt individuals within the Commission.
According to findings from the Auditor’s report, the Commission had also disbursed leave allowances and salaries to both teachers and administrative staff, resulting in an overpayment totaling to Ksh980,000.
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“The Commission overpaid leave allowance and salary arrears to 21 teachers and 75 Secretariat staff, amounting to Ksh 240,000 and Ksh740,000, respectively,” the report highlighted.
In response to these findings, Macharia attributed the overpayments to inefficiencies within the Commission’s reporting systems, largely due to their reliance on manual processes.
Failure to Provide Medical Cover
However, the Committee raised further concerns regarding the Commission’s failure to provide medical cover for its staff for an extended period, citing a violation of legal obligations.
In response, Macharia defended the delay in procuring a medical cover, attributing it to delayed disbursements of funds from the Treasury.
“Procurement of the medical cover was delayed due to insufficient budgetary allocations, which were only addressed after the budget was revised,” the commission’s CEO explained to the Committee.
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Despite Macharia’s clarifications, the committee demanded a forensic audit of the TSC payroll system to investigate the extent of the salary overpayments made in subsequent years.
The call for a forensic audit comes amidst heightened scrutiny over financial management within public institutions, with the PAC vowing to uphold transparency and accountability in government operations.