Audit reveals wasteful spending as KICD prints unnecessary books worth millions

Despite the government's warning of huge budget cuts in state ministries following Kenyans' rejection of Finance Bill 2024, reports of massive waste of public monies by government agencies continue to come from the Office of the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu.

The most recent example is the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), which hired a publishing company to manufacture 1 million copies of French textbooks that they knew were unnecessary.

Even though the agency in charge of designing a learning curriculum for schools ordered books for Grade 7 students, only one school in each of the targeted counties offered French as a learning area.

The books were published for schools in Nakuru, Bungoma, and Kakamega.

Surprisingly, a school for the deaf in Kwale and another for the blind in Likoni acquired copies of the French textbooks, which could not be used in their curricula.

Gathungu's office indicated that there were no adapted versions of textbooks to suit the special needs learners in the special schools, meaning that the publications went to waste.

"In the circumstances, value for money may not have been realised from the purchase of excessive course textbooks, failure to adapt books for special students and delays in delivery of books to schools," the report indicated.

The question the auditors brought forward was whether the KICD management performed a needs assessment before awarding the tender and distributing the books.

Aside from the bizarre publication of unnecessary French books at taxpayer expense, Gathungu's office has expressed concern about the severe delays in book delivery to schools, with some students receiving books after two academic terms had passed, rendering the delivery ineffective for its intended purpose.

For instance, schools in Bungoma and Nakuru got mathematics textbooks late. The report shows that the delivery notes from selected schools that received books had publishers deliver them in May, June, July and October 2023.

"As a result, learners were denied access to course materials for periods of up to two academic terms. Teachers also taught without teacher's guides," the audit report reads in part.

Kenyans, according to the report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, could lose up to Sh740 million in a project that has since stopped.

The money that tax papers may lose was handed to a contractor to erect an education resource centre at KICD headquarters in Nairobi, but the work is yet to be completed and has stalled with no workers on the site.

The payout was Sh724 million for contractual works and Sh15 million for lease-way. Works on the centre kicked off in May 2013 at a contract sum of Sh786 million and was to be concluded by March 2015, being 91 weeks.

Gathungu in the report before Parliament concluded that taxpayers did not get value for money in the investment. "In the circumstances, value for money was not realised on the construction of the Education Resource Centre."

The project reportedly stalled due to the non-remittance of development funds to the institute. Auditors queried why the project had stalled yet there was a budget set aside for the investment.

"As at the time of audit in February 2024, the contractor was not on site," the auditor said, warning that the lease-way agreement cost of Sh1.5 million annually will continue increasing due to project delay.

Prof. Charles Ochieng' Ong'ondo KICD is also on the spot for wrongful spending of Sh185 million above its approved budget. The Kenya Primary Education Equity and Learning project had an initial budget of Sh100 million but the institute spent Sh208 million.

KICD was also to spend Sh136 million under the digital literacy programme but ended up spending Sh215 million.

The education agency, like others in the government, is likely to suffer budget cuts, despite its wasteful spending as the Auditor General indicates.

Following the collapse of the Finance Bill 2024, the Treasury directed state agencies to cut expenditures after President William Ruro signed the Appropriations Bill.