Maseno University on the spot over bank loan, incomplete projects

Kisumu

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

KNA by Chris Mahandara

A Sh100.4 million loan secured by Maseno University to construct a students’ hostel is subject to a probe by a Parliamentary Committee.

This follows revelations by the Auditor General that the loan secured during the 2019-2020 financial year to fund the construction of a students’ hostel was not utilised.

The audit report indicates that there was no such expenditure or construction of a hostel at the university during the year under review.

Furthermore, the audit revealed that the university was holding a cash balance of Sh356,022,663 at the beginning and Sh276, 269, 554 at the end of the year under review.

According to the report, the balances included a Sh50,000,000 fixed deposit meaning that the decision to procure the loan was not justifiable given that the university had funds in the accounts.

The National Assembly Public Investments Committee (PIC) on Governance and Education grilled the university’s senior managers over the loan which at the time of audit had accrued an interest of Sh11,055,058.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Julius Nyabundi was hard pressed to respond to the matter but clarified that the amount was spent on construction of a tuition block and not a students’ hostel.

He told the committee that the tuition block was completed and a certificate of completion issued.

Prof. Nyabundi added that the Sh276, 269, 554 held in university accounts at that time was meant for operational activities including research and employees’ salaries.

Committee Chairman Jack Wamboka said the explanation given by the university was not satisfactory since the hostel upon which the university procured the loan was nonexistent.

He said the committee has launched an inquiry into the matter to ascertain the basis on which the loan was secured and how the money was spent.

He asked the Vice chancellor to table all documents relating to the matter before the committee, adding that a sub-Committee shall be dispatched to the institution to ascertain the facts.

Still on the Auditor General’s report, the university was faulted for having stalled projects despite consuming millions of public funds.

Among the projects pointed out during the sitting is the university’s sewerage system which has been of concern to the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and other stakeholders in Kisumu County.

In 2019, NEMA threatened to close down the institution following concerns of emitting raw effluent into Lake Victoria.

Examination of records on the sewerage project and maintenance of access roads indicated that they had stalled despite consuming Sh52,300,321public funds.

Maseno University Finance Officer Joseph Omondi told the committee that the projects were completed and in use.

However, the committee differed with the response saying the matter would be determined by the outcome of the sub-committee dispatched to the institution to verify the information.

Committee Chairman Jack Wamboka who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bumula Constituency said the responses received from the university were wanting, adding that the committee shall cite the senior officials for incompetence and laxity.

He said the committee, which is sitting in Kisumu to review Auditor General Reports for Universities, Technical Training Institutes (TTIS), national Polytechnics and Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions from the Nyanza region, would retreat to write a report which shall be tabled in parliament.

Wamboka added that investigations had been backdated to the 2019-2020 financial year to unearth gross financial malpractices raised by the Auditor General.

“We are going to come up with very strong recommendations. We are going to cite the officers involved in malpractices and declare them unfit to hold public office. If we don’t do this now then nothing will change,” he said.

Courtesy ; K. N. A