Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has publicly flagged eight Cabinet secretaries for stalling crucial audit reforms, underscoring a worrying trend of non-compliance with parliamentary directives aimed at strengthening accountability and transparency in government operations. Her latest remarks, delivered in a high-stakes accountability report, sound a strong warning to senior government officials and spotlight deepening governance challenges.Gathungu, the head of the Office of the Auditor-General, which is constitutionally mandated to audit all national and county government entities, noted that only a small fraction of audit recommendations have been fully acted upon by implementing ministries. The limited implementation of audit measures, she stressed, undermines efforts to enhance financial discipline and exposes the public purse to elevated risks of inefficiency, waste, and misallocation.
According to her office, only about 8% of audit recommendations have been fully adopted, while a significant portion — tallying more than two-thirds of all directives — has either been ignored or only partially implemented. Gathungu’s report highlights persistent inertia across several ministries, with accountability gaps in both national government agencies and state entities. The flagged Cabinet secretaries, though not named in the public summary of the report, are drawn from ministries where audit actions have stalled, directly impeding reforms intended to modernize public financial management systems and strengthen compliance with constitutional duties. Gathungu’s critique amplifies longstanding concerns that political leadership must do more to implement oversight recommendations and improve governance outcomes. Audit reforms championed by Gathungu include enforcement of performance audit recommendations, timely submission of audit responses, and establishing internal controls to ensure value for money in government spending. Her office has repeatedly called on Parliament and the executive to fast-track legislative changes that would empower the Auditor-General with sanctions for accounting officers who disregard audit findings — a measure she says is essential for closing accountability loopholes.
Parliamentary committees in recent months have also expressed frustration over the slow pace of response by some ministries to audit queries, with lawmakers urging stronger enforcement mechanisms and sanctions for non-compliance. This comes amid broader public pressure for improved stewardship of public resources and a more transparent governance culture. Public finance experts say that operationalizing audit recommendations not only improves service delivery but also helps restore public trust in government institutions, particularly as Kenya grapples with fiscal pressures and demands for more effective public spending. They argue that collaborative engagement between auditors, implementing ministries, and legislative oversight bodies is key to sustaining reforms. The Auditor-General’s stark assessment therefore serves as both a caution and a call to action: without concerted efforts by Cabinet secretaries and implementing agencies, Kenya’s audit reforms — and the promise of stronger accountability — risk stagnating at a time when citizens demand greater transparency and results.
