NYS scandal: Loopholes that make it easy to steal

It is same script different cast as reports emerge of one grand heist after another at the National Youth Service (NYS).

But why is the institution such an easy cash cow?

A 2015 Corruption Risk Assessment report by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) reveals a damning situation.

The systems at NYS are so weak that it has become a soft target for looters.

Ironically, it turns out that the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) is easy to manipulate despite it being lauded as a secure payment method approved by government.

At the time EACC was conducting its assessment, the audit module had not been activated, making it impossible to audit transactions in the system.

“This is a weakness that may make it difficult to detect any errors or irregularities before payments are made,” the report reads in part.

It may be the reason why ghost companies were paid for supplying nothing in the two corruption scandals.

In other cases, payment was made up to four times for a single LPO while costs of other contracts were inflated to dizzying proportions.

The IFMIS system aside, government officials working in cahoots with rapacious tenderpreneurs make for a sizzling honey pot.

EACC discovered that NYS failed to conduct due diligence giving room for cartels to bid for contracts using companies that seemed different on paper but were linked to each other.

Ksh.1.6billion for Kibera Road

In the first scandal, the principal suspect Josephine Kabura, whose 20 companies transacted a total of Ksh1.6billion, was paid to supply construction materials for a 3km road in Kibera.

The said materials would allegedly be drawn from NYS quarries and also transported by their trucks.

Further, it was found that NYS was not keen on conducting market surveys and prices of items such as laptops would be inflated by over Ksh.60,000 a piece.

EACC also discovered a unique loophole in which NYS would receive funds to undertake programs it had not planned for.

In the 2013/2014 financial year for example, the service received Ksh.7.6billion for construction of 16 dams in one year.

Due to pressure of time, the report states, some staff engaged in procurement of various items without following laid down procedures.

Even then the report noted that the NYS management has not been issuing formal responses to audit queries and ensuring timely implementation of the recommendations.

This EACC believes allows for continued existence of weaknesses in the systems that may provide opportunities for misuse or misappropriation of resources.