REMARKS BY THE CONTROLLER OF BUDGET, DR. MARGARET NYAKANG’O DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE INDUCTION TRAINING FOR OCOB AUDIT AND RISK COMMITTEE MEMBERS AT THE KENYA SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT-EMBU

24TH MARCH, 2021.

The Chairman – Audit and Risk Committee  – Mr. Sudi Ndinyo

Audit and Risk Committee Members

Former Risk and Audit Committee Members

Facilitators from Kenya School of Government

Colleagues from the Office of the Controller of Budget

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning

I am delighted to be here this morning to welcome you all to this induction training for the newly appointed members of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Office of the Controller of Budget. 

Indeed, it is with immense pleasure and privilege to stand before you today to officially open this training and thank you all for having found time from your busy schedules to be here. We have organized this exercise in conformity with the provisions of PFM National Government Regulations 2015, Regulation 182.  

The training is also geared to offer a platform for sharing our constitutional mandate in regard to budget implementation and execution and is aimed at sensitizing members of the Audit and Risk Committee on their independence in promoting prudence in our internal financial management as an office. May I, therefore, take this opportunity to say Karibu to you all.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you are aware, the Office of the Controller of Budget (OCOB) is an independent office established under Article 228 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) to oversee the implementation of budgets of the national and county governments, by approving withdrawals from all public funds such as the Consolidated Fund, the County Revenue Funds and Equalization Fund when satisfied that such withdrawal is authorized by law. The OCOB also prepares quarterly budget implementation reports to Parliament. These reports are published and publicized for transparency as required under Article 254(3) of the Constitution. Therefore, in the execution of its mandate, OCOB is independent and is not subject to the direction of any person or authority as provided for under Article 249 (2) (a) and (b) of the Constitution.

Public Finance Management Act, 2012 sect. 73(5) and PFM National Government Regulations 2015, Regulation 174(1); states that every national government public entity shall establish an Audit Committee whose composition and functions shall be as prescribed by the regulations. In addition PFM National Government Regulations 2015, Regulation 175; provides that the main functions of the Audit Committee shall be to (a) support the Accounting Officers with regard to their responsibilities for issues of risk, control, and governance, and associated assurance but the responsibility over the management of risk, control, and governance processes remains with the management of the concerned entity; and (b) follow up on the implementation of the recommendations of internal and external auditors.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen

In compliance with the PFM Act and regulations, the Controller of Budget constituted the Audit and Risk Committee comprising of five members including the Chairperson. 

Further, it is a requirement that the office sensitizes the Audit and Risk Committee members on the mandate of the office, the budget, the procurement plan, the report of the previously internally constituted Audit Committee, and the expectation of the Audit and Risk Committee.

It is in pursuit of this requirement that we are holding this training with the aim of explaining our mandate and sensitizing you as a committee on your role in the prudent management of our internal resources.  Accordingly, you will also deliberate on the issues raised in the handover report from the initial internally constituted Audit Committee and derive a formula on how to develop a way forward for the OCOB Audit and Risk Committee.

It is, therefore, my sincere hope that this training will provide you with the grounding and the necessary interest, as our key partners in the prudent management of public funds, to understand the mandate of the office of the Controller of Budget including our Procurement plan and Annual Budget and to develop a harmonized relationship with our Internal Audit department.

I also anticipate that you will be actively involved in identifying potential gaps in our systems and participate in the process of providing solutions that would bridge these gaps.

It is my earnest belief that you will strive to assist in ensuring compliance with our internal systems and prudent management of resources in strict compliance with the legal provisions and accounting standards.

In conclusion, I would like to sincerely thank the Kenya School of Government for offering the venue and resource persons. I also thank and appreciate my colleagues from the Office of the Controller of Budget for availing their respective tacit and implicit knowledge.   Particular mention goes to the Audit team for their relentless efforts in ensuring our internal controls are intact and for organizing this training.

As participants in this workshop, it is my hope that you will come out of this training with the requisite knowledge about our mandate, the mindset of promoting prudence and accountability in our financial management systems, and further establish a team spirit with the office through the interaction you will have with our senior managers. I also believe that the training will improve your individual capacity to understand the overall principles that govern prudent management of public funds as envisioned by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010

I, therefore, urge you to participate in this training with the seriousness it deserves. 

 

With these few remarks, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now my pleasure to declare this training officially open!

Thank You and God Bless You.