Audit Report Finds KRA Hired D Students for Lucrative Positions

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is under scrutiny for hiring candidates with low grades for lucrative positions, according to a report released by the Office of the Auditor General.

The OAG found that KRA received approval to recruit 1,500 Revenue Service Assistants (RSAs) from The National Treasury and the Public Service Commission. The positions required a minimum grade of D+ and candidates below 35 years of age. However, KRA recruited 1,406 RSAs, and the audit found several issues in the recruitment processes. 

The report states that a total of  99 applicants were shortlisted and interviewed despite the fact that they had grades below D+, highlighting flaws in the e-procurement system used by KRA. 

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The audit further found that KRA allowed incomplete data submissions. Some candidates were allowed to make an application without providing their ID numbers as stipulated, while others were found to have similar ID numbers. 

The number of applicants was overstated due to duplicate records. According to the report, out of 127,117 applicants, 3,592 records were duplicates, making the correct number 123,525.

Additionally, age disclosure was a key requirement, yet 5,577 applicants did not indicate their date of birth yet these applicants were still allowed to proceed.

The application forms also allowed multiple submissions from single candidates, as highlighted in the report.

The audit concluded that KRA's e-recruitment system has weak security controls and unreliable data.

This is the second blow to hit KRA in relation to the recruitment of the  Revenue Service Assistants. 

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In March, the High Court ruled that the process of recruiting the 1,406 was unconstitutional on account of lack of diversity. 

“A declaration of the June 2023 recruitment of the 1406 revenue service assistants was unconstitutional as it offends the preamble of the Constitution and the provisions of Articles 10, 27, 56, and 232 (g) (h) (i) of the Constitution,” reads court papers.

The court found that out of those hired, 785 candidates came from two communities while 621 positions were shared by the other 43 communities in Kenya. 

“An order barring the respondents from recruiting and appointing staff at all levels, until an ethnic diversity and regional balance policy is deployed, giving effect to the values and principles stated in the preamble and Article 232(g)(h) (i) of the Constitution, which policy should be in place within 30 days of this order,” the order reads in part.

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