EPRA DG Daniel Kiptoo grilled by MPs over Ksh.181M irregular expenditure

Appearing before the National Assembly Public Investment Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy probing the alleged irregularities, EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo was accused by Legislators of not doing enough as head of a critical public agency to cushion Kenyans against the spike in fuel prices despite assuring Parliament that prices of Crude Oil are set to reduce in the coming weeks and months. 

The damning financial report of EPRA's unsatisfactory spending of Ksh.181 million towards a contract awarded to Intertek Testing Services Limited was revealed by the office of the Auditor General before the committee.

The office of the AG informed the Parliamentary Energy watchdog that Ksh.65 million was overspent.

“Chair, we are not satisfied by EPRA's explanation on how they spent the monies,” Fredrick Oluoch, Deputy Director in the Office of the Auditor General said.

Committee Chair Pkosing added: “Even us from where we sit are not satisfied."

According to documents tabled before the Energy Committee, EPRA spent Ksh.181 million in three phases, with a notable variation in Years 2 and 3 that includes a controversial addition of an extra Ksh.62 million inclusive of VAT. 

“Even with the inclusion of the VAT, the expenditure is still not fully satisfactory,” Oluoch added.

 EPRA boss Kiptoo in a rejoinder, however, said: "The initial quotation did not include VAT and variation caused by the Kenya shilling to US Dollar exchange rate."

“The anomaly would have been clarified during the audit stage by the office of the Attorney General."

“Still with your many wordings of explanation, the bottom line remains the Auditor General is still not satisfied with your explanation which we will highlight in our report,” Committee Chair Pkosing said.

The embattled EPRA boss was taken to task over the government's seeming lack of tangible interventions on the spike in fuel prices with MPs saying the new G to G model is not working.

“Ordinary Kenyans out there are really struggling due to the ever-rising cost of fuel... what are you doing as a regulator to cushion them?" Embakasi East MP Babu Owino said.

Rangwe MP Gogo added: "Stop speaking very good English Just tell us when Kenyans should expect the prices of fuel to drop."

Kiptoo maintained that EPRA expects prices of crude oil to start going down according to their projections. 

EPRA undertakes the Fuel Monitoring Program two weeks every month by taking samples from selected petrol stations across the country. The samples are tested to check the presence of adulteration or dumping.