History made as Thika Town CDF wins East African award for best financial reporting.

Thika Town Constituency on Friday night made history for being the first National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) Committee in Kenya to win an award for best financial reporting at the 18th edition of Financial Reporting (FiRe) Awards 2019 that was held at the Carnivore Restaurant in Nairobi.

The NG-CDF committee won the award based on their 2018-2019 Fiscal Year audited reports. They were the only constituency that was recognised in the fete out of the 290 across the country.

While speaking to the press after the awards ceremony, Thika Town MP Eng. Patrick Wainaina attributed the success to his resolve to delink politics from service delivery adding that his team would dedicate this recognition and achievement by offering more services to his constituents.

“I am really excited! Beating all the 290 constituencies was a very pleasant surprise that had not crossed my mind. However, it all boils down to service leadership that has been our clarion call since we assumed office. In Thika, we say ‘Hapa Kazi Tu’. I promise my constituents to wait for greater times ahead. There is no turning back,” said an elated Wainaina.

He congratulated his CDF committee for their dedication to serve and wished that their predecessors did a similar job.

“Our 2018-19 CDF allocation only had Sh. 45 million set aside for development but the amount of work this team has done with it is enormous. How I wish our predecessors did the same. Thika Town would have made very big strides in development,” he noted.

CDF Chairman Huruko Njau thanked the MP for his hands on approach to issues and also allowing his committee to work independently without political interference which allowed them to optimise their service delivery.

“Our success has been driven by the belief that service to humanity is service to God. We also believe that God has given us this as an opportunity to serve Him and not one to dip our hands into public coffers. Stealing from the public will only bring a curse upon you and your generations,” explained Huruko.

His sentiments were echoed by the Fund Manager Joan Jebet Koech who challenged fellow youth to strive to do the best in whatever field they were, discouraging them from seeking quick fixes to issues.

“It’s all about commitment and believing in oneself. Seeking shortcuts to success will only bring you disaster as this kind of achievements never last.

NG-CDF Board Chairman Robert Masese congratulated the Thika team for this achievement and challenged other constituencies across the country to follow suit.

“The FiRe Awards recognise the best in financial reporting and record keeping. This eventually boils down to better services to the public,” said Masese.

The same was said by the Ag. NG-CDF Board CEO Yusuf Buno who acknowledged the enormous work that Thika Town Constituency had done with the amount they received in the just concluded fiscal year.

The FiRe Awards 2019 brought together more than a 100 participants from across East Africa, drawn from both private and public entities.

Permanent Secretary Treasury and National Planning Dr. Julius Muia was the chief guest in this year’s event.

Leaders present included Governors Francis Kimemia (Nyandarua)and Kibutha Kibwana (Makueni), State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua and other distinguished leaders in drawn from Public-Sector Accounting Standards Board-Kenya (PSASB), the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

Financial Reporting (FiRe) Award was launched on 15th November 2002 promoted by ICPAK, CMA and NSE. 

It is the most prestigious and coveted Award in East Africa for financial reporting, usually presented annually during a gala evening by the joint promoters; the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Kenya, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and the Public-Sector Accounting Standards Board-Kenya (PSASB).