Auditor reports deserve action, not indifference

Every now and then, the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) releases a report so alarming that it should jolt the nation into collective outrage.

It should compel the President to demand answers, force Cabinet secretaries to act, and send Parliament into emergency sessions. But these explosive findings have become routine entries in our national diary—startling for a moment, then swiftly forgotten.

The latest OAG report on the education sector is a stellar example. According to the report, close to Sh1 billion has been channelled to ghost schools. Funds meant to educate children in classrooms somehow found their way to institutions that do not exist. That level of deception should send the entire government machinery into a frenzy. Yet, the system remains unmoved.

The OAG is a watchdog that barks into the void. The constitutional process is clear: the Auditor-General exposes the rot, the Executive and Parliament act. But this chain snaps immediately after the first step. Instead of action, we get defensive press statements, half-hearted promises, and a flurry of political spin.

Leaders have perfected what can only be called “performative accountability”—the art of appearing concerned while doing absolutely nothing. And because no one is ever held responsible, the cycle continues. The corrupt thrive. The whistle-blowers are intimidated. And the public slowly grows numb.

At a time when Kenyans are complaining about shrinking payslips, rising taxes, and the unbearable cost of living, the Auditor-General’s reports reveal a different kind of story: there is money in this country, a lot of it, but it circulates among the powerful few.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy today is not the corruption itself, but the fact that Kenyans are no longer shocked by it. Scandals trend on social media, inspire jokes, then evaporate by the next day. The country has been conditioned to treat theft of public funds as normal.

If Kenya is to reclaim its future, accountability cannot be optional; it cannot be symbolic; it cannot be selective. It must be real, enforced and backed by consequences.

Kudos to the OAG for standing firm in a system stacked against it. Those in power must act on the findings of the reports.

Charles Wanjohi, Nairobi