By Mary Karugaba
and Madinah Tebajjukira

PARLIAMENT has started public hearings on the financial mismanagement of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) following a forensic audit by KPMG, a Kenyan firm.

KPMG was commissioned by the Auditor General on the directive of President Yoweri Museveni to probe the fund from January 2005 to November 2008.

Preparations for the public hearing kicked off yesterday with the Auditor General, John Muwanga, meeting the parliamentary committee on commissions.

According to Muwanga, KPMG found that “a lot was wrong with the management of NSSF”. He appealed to Parliament to perform its role and improve the management of the fund.
Muwanga told the committee, chaired by Reagan Okumu (FDC), that major irregularities were in areas of procurement, salary advances, allowances and loans.

“As at January 31, 2009, the managing director Chandi Jamwa’s ledger account indicated that he owed the fund sh224.2m. To recover this money from him, NSSF would have to deduct sh20.3m per month for the remaining duration of his contract,” Muwanga said.
Jamwa originally earned sh18m per month but his salary was reduced by half on interdiction.

Jamwa and his deputy, Mondo Kagonyera, were suspended from NSSF in December 2008 on the orders of Museveni to pave way for investigations.

Kagonyera owed the fund sh115m at the end of January 2009. According to Muwanga, to recover this money, the fund would have to deduct sh9m per month from his salary, which stood at sh16m.

Jamwa and Kagonyera’s fate will be determined after Parliament’s public hearing. Jamwa became NSSF’s managing director in February 2008, replacing Leonard Mpuuma. Mpuuma’s contract was terminated prematurely over abuse of office and corruption in which the fund lost sh8b.

Other issues, Muwanga said, include misuse of credit cards, procurement of stockbrokers, investments in fixed deposits and the sale of immature bonds.
Okumu said the committee had asked the Police at Parliament to open files on some of the cases.

“The public is waiting and we must deal with this matter and complete it within two weeks,” Okumu said.