Kenya Power has announced that it has suspended 59 procurement and supply chain heads. This is to allow for a forensic audit to identify areas of possible revenue leakages. In the meantime, an interim team has been appointed to ensure business continuity.
In a statement, Kenya Power said the goal of the forensic audit, which will be done on the procurement systems, stock and staff, is to enhance the robustness of the company’s supply chain processes. This is expected to anchor them on the principles of value for money, professionalism and accountability.
The audit comes barely a month after President Uhuru Kenyatta formed a task force to implement findings of the team selected in March to review Power Purchase Agreements between independent power producers and Kenya Power.
The task force was also tasked with addressing the cost of electricity, as well as streamlining and strengthening the business, and the sector.
Radical cleanup of the listed power distributor’s procurement and supply chain division is one of the recommendations by the task force led by John Ngumi.
“As a consequence, and in compliance with the task force recommendations, the top leadership of the supply chain division comprising 59 members of staff has been suspended with immediate effect to pave way for the forensic audit,” read part of the statement by Kenya Power.
In 2020, Kenya Power suffered Ksh. 15.99 billion worth of system losses beyond what it is allowed to recover from consumers in the year ended June 2020.
The firm’s system losses rose 23.46 per cent in the period, well beyond the 14.9 per cent that the regulator had allowed it to pass on to customers’ bills in 12 months.
Besides, the task force also wants Kenya Power to lower the cost of purchasing power from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) with the aim of securing the sector’s sustainability.
Last week, the firm bounced back to profitability, reporting Ksh. 1.4 billion in net earnings for the year ended June 30 compared to a Ksh. 939 million loss last year.
The firm’s profit before tax stood at Ksh. 8.2 billion for the period under review, representing a 216 per cent YoY growth compared to a loss before tax of Ksh. 7.04 billion.