Parliamentary scrutiny of the National Youth Service has once again turned to the question of accountability for public funds that disappeared under previous leadership.
A committee of MPs has directed the Inspector General of State Corporations to pursue recovery of millions of shillings from former senior officials, including ex-Director General Richard Ndubai, former Council Chair Matilda Sakwa, and former council members John Kibunga and Mary Wambui.
The findings rest on years of audit queries covering irregular payments, abandoned construction projects, and decisions that left the agency carrying losses it has struggled to reverse.
The Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture reviewed NYS accounts spanning the 2019/20 to 2024/25 financial years.
What emerged was a pattern of incomplete work for which substantial sums had already been paid. One project at the NYS Engineering Institute in Ruaraka stands out: a double-span kitchen, dining hall and barracks awarded in 2011 at a contract sum of Sh192 million.
The contractor received Sh186 million before abandoning the site. Years later the buildings remain incomplete, with cracks visible on walls and floors, and the structures continuing to deteriorate.
The committee noted that management failed to invoke the contractual clauses that would have allowed recovery of losses from the delayed and unfinished work.
A similar issue arose with the construction of a VIP stand at the Gilgil College Parade Ground. Even after the scope of works was reduced, the contractor was paid Sh14.6 million against a revised contract value of Sh12.7 million.
MPs have ordered the recovery of the Sh1.94 million overpayment from the former accounting officer, finance officer and board members responsible.
Another contract for sewerage works at the NYS Training Institute in Naivasha saw the contractor receive Sh30.7 million about 58 per cent of the contract value before abandoning the site.
The committee has recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions examine the anomalies surrounding that payment.
Beyond construction, the MPs flagged the payment of Sh7.53 million in gratuity to a former director general while a related court case was still pending.
The payment was processed after advice from the human resource director and after the then Principal Secretary indicated no objection.
The committee has instructed the Inspector General to establish whether the court matter has been resolved in the officer’s favour. If it has not, the full amount, together with interest at prevailing Central Bank rates, should be recovered from those who authorised it.
The same report has ordered investigations into Sh99.7 million paid to trainers and lecturers outside the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database. The criteria used to hire these tutors were not provided for verification, raising questions about both the legitimacy of the expenditure and compliance with public service procedures.
In a separate finding, the recruitment of a procurement specialist on a two-year contract costing Sh6.7 million drew criticism because the salary exceeded Public Service Commission guidelines and the role largely duplicated the existing head of supply chain management.
The committee’s directives go further still. Thousands of hectares of NYS land approximately 2,247 hectares spread across Yatta, Mavoloni, Athi River, Mombasa Technical Institute and Mwatate remain unfenced and vulnerable to encroachment.
The current accounting officer has been given three months to put in place a land management and security framework that includes demarcation, fencing and continuous monitoring.
MPs have also called for a inquiry into the ownership and protection of NYS land held by other government agencies.Taken together, the recommendations mark a shift from documenting failures to demanding personal liability.
Former accounting officers, finance officials and board members are to be held responsible for decisions that produced stalled projects and disputed payments.
Recovery proceedings are to include interest, and legal action is to be considered where financial losses can be clearly attributed.
Whether these orders translate into actual recovery or prosecution will depend on the willingness of enforcement agencies to act. For an institution long associated with scandals and incomplete accountability, the latest parliamentary report leaves little room for further delay.
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