NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 17 – Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has urged the National Treasury to seal tax loopholes in Government Ministries to reduce misuse.
Gathungu said that some departments receive funds in the month of July when the financial year has ended, creating a room for wastage.
She said this leads to wastage, reallocation, and misallocation of funds as well as illegality and irregularities.
“The constitution speaks to twelve months in a year, which is a financial year. But your excellency, we have created a thirteenth month and in that thirteenth month there is a lot of wastage of resources as your accounting officers whom you have appointed struggle to absorb funds in May, June and unfortunately in July funds that they should not be receiving in July and that creates the loopholes your excellency for wastage, reallocation, misallocation, illegality and irregularities,” Gathungu spoke at State House.
However, she said the problem can be solved through an amendment of the Public Finance Management Act.
“The CS National Treasury needs to address this and your excellency this can be done as a directive or as an amendment to the public finance management Act including instituting a crew accounting so you PS’s don’t struggle as other PSs have struggled before to absorb funds at the last quarter of the financial year,” the Auditor General added.
This comes at a time when President William Ruto’s Government targets to raise Sh3 trillion in the next financial year.
Last year, Ruto urged the agency to double current collections in the next five years.
In the 2021/22 financial year, KRA collected Sh2.031 trillion.
