NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 15 – A public girls’ school in Nyeri has been ordered to explain a Sh1 million investment in the Nairobi Securities Exchange after MPs questioned why the money earned only Sh5,381 in dividends in a year.

📻 Breaking It Down

Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls High School was also unable to immediately provide key documents showing which companies it had invested in or whether the investment had received the required approval from the National Treasury.

The matter came before the National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education after the Auditor-General raised questions over Sh1.58 million reported as short-term investments in the school’s financial statements for the year ended June 2021.

Auditors said the school had not provided investment certificates or other supporting documents to establish the existence and completeness of the amount.

📌 What You Need to Know

School chief principal Jane Njuguna told MPs that the Sh1.58 million comprised different balances, including Sh1 million invested in shares at the NSE, while the rest was held in various accounts.

The disclosure prompted questions from MPs over whether the investment was generating sufficient returns for a public institution.

“Can you imagine we have Sh1 million and this year you got Sh5,000?” committee chairman Dick Maungu (Luanda) asked.

Mr Maungu said the school would have to demonstrate that the investment represented value for money, particularly at a time when parents were being asked to contribute towards school needs.

“We need to provide that indeed there is value for money,” he said.

He questioned why the school would keep public funds invested for minimal returns while continuing to rely on parents to meet some of its financial obligations.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya