Exposing the exploitation of the deaf: A tender scam, tribalism, outstanding bills, and financial irregularities at St. Joseph's technical institute for the deaf Nyangoma for the Deaf have been revealed

 

 

The latest report from the Auditor General for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, has uncovered significant mismanagement and financial discrepancies under the administration of Colleta Omondi, Principal/Secretary of the Board of Governors.

Since her appointment, there have been numerous complaints regarding Omondi's leadership, as she has not initiated any substantial development projects, instead focusing on initiatives that would benefit her personally.

The report indicates that several issues have been identified, prompting the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to conduct further investigations aimed at apprehending and prosecuting those deemed responsible.

Procurement irregularities in Repairs and Maintenance

The financial performance statement, as detailed in the financial statements, indicated an amount of Kshs.4,761,922 allocated for repairs and maintenance.

An examination of the payment vouchers uncovered discrepancies in the procurement documentation. For instance, a requisition from the user department for plumbing repair works was dated April 8, 2024, and had been approved by both the Head of Department and the accounting officer.

However, the request for quotation indicated a submission deadline of March 28, 2024, which is prior to the requisition date. This raises concerns regarding the integrity of the procurement process.

Under these circumstances, the regularity, accuracy, and completeness of the procurement amounting to Kshs.4,761,922 for repairs and maintenance could not be verified.

Consequently, management was found to be in violation of the law.

 

Tribalism in employment: Non Luos not considered

An examination of the human resource records indicated that ninety-one percent (91%) of the college's staff belonged to the predominant ethnic group in the county.

This situation contradicts the stipulations outlined in Section 7(2) of the National Cohesion and Integration Act, 2008, which specifies that no public institution should employ more than one-third of its workforce from a single ethnic community.

Consequently, failure to comply may lead to breaches of legal obligations, which could result in penalties and legal proceedings.

Denying youth, women and PLWD jobs

An examination of the annual procurement plan for the fiscal year being audited indicated that management failed to allocate a minimum of thirty percent (30%) of the annual procurement budget for the acquisition of goods, works, and services from businesses owned by youth, women, and individuals with disabilities.

This action is in violation of Regulation 149 of the Public Procurement of Assets and Disposal Regulations 2020, which mandates that an accounting officer of a procuring entity must, when processing procurement in accordance with section 157(5) of the Act, allocate at least thirty percent (30%) of its annual procurement budget for the purpose of acquiring goods, works, and services from enterprises owned by youth, women, and persons with disabilities.

Consequently, management has contravened the law.

High pending Bills

The financial position statement, as disclosed in Note 17, indicates receivables from exchange transactions totaling Kshs.60,944,091.

A review of the student debtors list, as reported by the Auditor-General on St. Joseph's Technical Training Institute for the year ending 30 June 2021, revealed that the current receivables from exchange transactions, amounting to Kshs.58,092,520 related to student debtors, have remained outstanding for over one year.

Nevertheless, the strategies implemented to ensure the complete recovery of the outstanding amount may not be feasible.

In light of these circumstances, the recoverability of the student debtors totaling Kshs.58,092,520 could not be confirmed.

 

Irregularities in Procurement of Assets

The financial position statement, as detailed in Note 22 of the financial statements, indicates that the Property, Plant, and Equipment total Kshs.192,105,180. This balance includes newly acquired assets that exhibit the following procurement irregularities:

i)             Direct Procurement: The Property, Plant, and Equipment encompasses additions of furniture and fittings amounting to Kshs.2,810,000, of which Kshs.1,146,900 pertains to procurement conducted via the direct procurement method. No justification was provided for selecting the direct procurement method, as mandated by the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

 

ii)                  Delivery of Laptops with Lower Specifications: Additionally, the PPE includes an expenditure of Kshs.255,000.00 for the acquisition of three (3) laptops. An examination of the user department's requisition alongside the corresponding local purchase order revealed that the specifications for the laptop order were as follows: 16 GB RAM, 500 GB SSD, and an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor.

 

On 7th April 2025, a physical verification of the laptops was carried out, revealing that the vendor had supplied laptops with inferior specifications, even though full payment had been made.

The specifications of the delivered laptops are as follows: 8 GB RAM, 238 GB SSD, and an Intel Core i7 processor. Consequently, Management did not comply with Section 72(1)(a) and (b) of the Public Finance Act 2012, which stipulates that the accounting officer of a national government entity shall:

(a) be accountable for the management of the entity's assets and liabilities; and

(b) manage those assets in a manner that ensures the National Government entity achieves value for money in the acquisition, utilization, and disposal of those assets. Under these circumstances, Management has violated the law.

 

iii)         Stalled Project - Kopolo Campus A site visit conducted on 7 April 2025 at Kopolo Campus indicated that the project has been stalled for almost six years due to a lack of budget.

iv)                The tender for the proposed twin workshop, classrooms, and office block, Tender No: SJTTI/00112018-2019, was awarded to a local contractor on 3 July 2018 for a contract amount of Kshs.53,470,287, with an anticipated completion time of one (1) year.

v)                  At the time of the audit, works valued at Kshs.22,362,210 had been disbursed, reflecting approximately forty-one percent (41%) completion.