Coffee farmers from Nyamonya Farmers Co-operative society, Bobasi Chache Ward have urged the Board of Management to embrace a competitive process in picking of external auditors to audit the society's accounts to enhance transparency in the running of the farmers' affairs.
The farmers expressed fear that, if the Board of Management was given a free hand to handpick an external auditor there might be conflict of interest and in case of any irregularity in the management of the co-operatives’ funds the Board might collude with their preferred external auditor to cover the audit queries to the detriment of the co-operative members.
Speaking at Nyamonya Main Farmers Co-operative Society during the farmers AGM, David Ogega, one of the members challenged the Board of management to ensure the Society's external auditors are picked through an open and competitive process to avert collusion between the Board and the external auditor of their choice to cover the board against any financial improprieties.
Kasmir Maobe, another member cautioned the management against engaging audit services from the State Department of Co-operatives Development, arguing, the Government was there to assist farmers get justice and if auditors from the state department were engaged to audit books of accounts for the co-operative societies it will be difficult to hold them accountable in case of a problem in the management of the members' funds.
Maobe vehemently opposed the idea of engaging Government auditors to audit co-operative society books of accounts, saying, the auditors were imposed on the members and did not follow due process to have them audit co-operative societies' books of accounts.