According to a new report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, the National Youth Service (NYS) is facing overstaffing issues in its senior management ranks. The report highlights significant overstaffing primarily in three positions: Assistant Director, Senior Superintendent, and Superintendent.
Specifically, the audit reveals that although there are only fourteen established positions for Assistant Directors, there are currently 30 uniformed officers holding this position.
Similarly, the position of Senior Superintendent exceeds its approved capacity of 36 officers with 52 incumbents. Additionally, there are 62 individuals holding the Superintendent position, which exceeds the established number of 57.
The findings indicate a disparity between approved staffing levels and current appointments in these senior roles within the NYS.
Management position
Reads the report: “Management did not provide explanation for the overstaffing in the senior management positions.”
A report for the year ending June 2023 has highlighted several issues of non-compliance and financial anomalies within the National Youth Service (NYS). Among the concerns raised by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, the NYS has been found:
1. Non-compliant with the one-third of basic salary rule, as 156 employees were paid a net salary of less than one-third of their basic pay in June 2023, contravening Section 19(3) of the Employment Act, 2007.
2. Paying salaries outside the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) for trainers and lecturers, totaling Sh99.7 million. This payment was made without proper criteria for hiring tutors, which prevented verification and breached Public Service Policies and Procedures.
3. Noted anomalies include unsupported refundable deposits, unsupported property, plant, and equipment, long outstanding trade and other payables, and several stalled projects.
These findings indicate significant governance and financial management challenges within the NYS, as identified by the audit report.
Current values
The audit report for the year ending June 2023 highlights several concerns regarding property, plant, and equipment management at the National Youth Service (NYS). The report indicates:
1. The NYS lacks a complete and accurate asset register detailing information such as asset type, acquisition date, supplier, cost, location, code, current values, remaining useful life, and salvage value. Additionally, assets have not been tagged for tracking and identification.
2. Despite owning approximately 2,247 hectares of land in various locations including Yatta, Mavoloni, Athi River, Mombasa Technical Institute, and Mwatate, these parcels remain unfenced and are encroached upon.
3. The NYS Engineering Unit’s land has been encroached upon by private developers who have constructed structures, posing a risk of losing the land.
The report expresses concerns about the accuracy, completeness, and valuation of the property, plant, and equipment balance amounting to Kshs. 30,253,103,894, stating that these aspects could not be confirmed.
Regarding refundable deposits from customers:
1. The NYS retained Sh33.99 million from contractors and Sh344.3 million in deposits for various cohorts, including wages, kitchen expenses, and allowances payable to servicemen and women.
2. The retention from contractors lacked support such as retention money registers, ledgers, and aging analysis. Similarly, deposits for other cohorts engaged during the Youth Empowerment Programme between September 2014 and February 2015 were delayed in payment without satisfactory explanation from management.
The report concludes that the accuracy and completeness of the refundable deposits totaling Kshs. 378,308,240 could not be confirmed under these circumstances.
