Kenya’s Audit Office wins award for best performance audit

The aim of the Prize is to promote the development of performance auditing in English-speaking Africa by sharing experience, showcasing good practice, and highlighting the efforts made by individual auditors. The Prize was launched by AFROSAI-E in 2008 with the support of the Swedish National Audit Office. The Swedish National Audit Office also chairs the independent international review team that selects the winner.

A total of eight performance audit reports were nominated for this year’s competition by the Supreme Audit Institutions of Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania and Uganda. All nominated audits addressed topics of high relevance to both parliaments and citizens.

This year’s Prize is awarded to the Office of the Auditor-General of Kenya for its performance audit on the implementation of the Kenya Urban Support Program Phase 1, a major national programme aimed at strengthening urban governance and delivering essential infrastructure in a rapidly growing urban environment.

“This audit clearly demonstrates the value of performance audit when it is applied to large and complex public programmes. By combining solid evidence with a balanced analysis, the report provides insights that are essential for strengthening accountability and improving how public resources deliver long‑term benefits for citizens,” says Auditor General of Sweden Christina Gellerbrant Hagberg.

The jury highlighted the audit’s solid methodology, extensive fieldwork and balanced analysis, as well as its ability to present complex issues in a clear and accessible way. The report assesses both achievements and shortcomings of the programme and identifies several systemic weaknesses affecting long-term effectiveness, including unclear responsibilities, delays, insufficient maintenance arrangements and limited citizen engagement.

“The report is competent and well‑structured, supported by rich evidence and clear links between objectives, methodology, findings and recommendations. It provides valuable insights and has the potential to strengthen the performance of similar programmes in the future,” says Anders Berg, Audit Director at the Swedish National Audit Office and Chair of the international jury.

The Prize was presented by Auditor General Christina Gellerbrant Hagberg at AFROSAI-E’s annual strategy meeting for Auditors General in the region, held in Monrovia, Liberia.

As part of the Prize, the audit team behind the winning report is offered a study visit to the Swedish National Audit Office, for the purpose of exchanging knowledge and experiences with Swedish fellow colleagues and last year’s winning team from Uganda.