EFFECTS OF RISK ASSESSMENT ON FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AS EVIDENCED IN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CONSTITUENCIES DEVELOPMENT FUND IN KENYA

The objective of National Government Constituencies Development Fund is to promote human and infrastructural development at the community and constituency levels. The fund is expected to be operated with the highest level of transparency, probity, propriety, and accountability. Despite the elaborate measures put in place by the government to ensure transparency, financial accountability in many constituencies is still not as expected. Studies done on internal controls and financial accountability have been in other sectors such as public Universities, the ones done in constituencies have concentrated on the performance of county projects and have looked at only specific constructs of internal controls. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of risk assessment on financial accountability of national Government Constituencies development fund in Kenya. The study was structured on; agency theory and accountability theory. A correlation research design was adopted. The target population of the study was 1160 respondents while the sample population was 288 respondents consisting of; 72 committee members, 72 sub-county accountants, 72 fund account managers, and 72 internal auditors. Primary data was obtained by use of a questionnaire while secondary data was obtained from Auditor General’s Reports and financial statements of the NG-CDF’s. Cronbach Alpha was used to test reliability. Expert analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess Validity. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics Inferential statistics consisted of correlation analysis and simple linear regression analysis. A pilot test was carried out using 29 respondents. Cronbach Alpha was used to test the internal consistency of the questionnaire. All the constructs had indicators of above 0.7 confirming reliability. KMO and Bartlett’s tests were carried out to test validity. All constructs loaded values of above 0.4 thus confirming validity. It was established that there exists a strong and positive association exists between risk assessment and financial accountability evidenced by an r of 0.707 for risk assessment. It was recommended that their close scrutiny of all risk-prone activities should be analyzed. JEL: G10, G20, G32  Article visualizations

INTERNAL CONTROLS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CONSTITUENCIES DEVELOPMENT FUND IN KENYA

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of internal controls on the financial accountability of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund in Kenya. The specific objectives were: to establish the effect of control activities, risk assessment, communication, monitoring and control environment on the financial accountability of NG-CDF in Kenya. The study was structured on: agency, fraud triangle and accountability theories. Positivism research philosophy guided the study. A correlation research design was adopted. The target population of the study was 1160 respondents, while the sample population was 288 respondents. Primary data was obtained by use of a questionnaire, while secondary data was obtained from the auditor’s general reports and financial statements of the NG-CDFs. A pilot test was carried out using 29 respondents. It was established that there exists a strong and positive association exists between internal controls and financial accountability for all the variables, as confirmed by; r = 0.718 for control activities, r = 0.707 for risk assessment, r = 0.759 for monitoring, r = 0.703 for communication and r = 0.686 for control environment and financial accountability. The R-square value was 0.762. The results of the ANOVA showed an F statistic of 15.513, and a p-value of 0.008. All the constructs of internal controls were established to have a significant effect on unsupported expenditure, which was confirmed by β = 2.157, p-value 0.005, β = 0.998, p-value 0.014, β = 1.282, p-value of 0.004. β = 0.371, p-value of 0. 047 and β = 1.13 6, p-value 0.009 for control activities, risk assessment, monitoring communication and control environment respectively. It was recommended that the NG-CDF management committee should strengthen the separation of duties and ensure that the stipulated guidelines for approval are followed at all times. Close scrutiny of all risk-prone activities should be analyzed. External auditors must give unbiased reports. NG-CDF committee members should be honest and have no conflict of interest. JEL:  G30, M42, H83, D73  Article visualizations

CONTROL ACTIVITIES AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY LESSONS FROM THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CONSTITUENCIES DEVELOPMENT FUND IN KENYA

The objective of NG-CDF is to promote human and infrastructural development at the community and constituency levels. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of control activities on the financial accountability of NG-CDF funds in Kenya. The study was structured on; agency theory, fraud triangle theory, and accountability theory. Positivism research philosophy guided the study. A correlation research design was adopted. The target population of the study was 1160 respondents while the sample population was 288 respondents consisting of; 72 committee members, 72 sub-county accountants, 72 fund account managers, and 72 internal auditors. It was established that there exists a strong and positive association exists between control activities and financial accountability evidenced by; r = 0.718. Control activities were further established to have a significant effect on unsupported expenditure which was confirmed by β = 2.157, P-value 0.005. It was recommended that the NG-CDF management committee should strengthen the separation of duties and ensure that the stipulated guidelines for approval are followed at all times.JEL: G10, G20, G32  Article visualizations

A practical guideline to remote biopsy darting of wildebeests for genetic sampling

The use of biopsy darts for remote collection of tissue samples from free-ranging terrestrial and aquatic animal species has gained popularity in the recent past. The success of darting is very important since scientists may not have many chances to re-dart the same animal, especially with the free-ranging elusive wildlife species. We used wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) as a model to estimate the optimum shooting distance, pressure and the shot part of the body through which a researcher can optimize the success and amount of tissue collected from similar wild land mammalian species. Wildebeests were darted at six categories of distances ranging between 10 and 45 m and dart gun pressures of 5–14 millibar. The number of failed darts increased by increasing the darting distance: 0% (10 m), 0% (20 m), 6% (30 m), 20% (35 m), 71% (40 m), and 67% (45 m). There was a notable effect of the distances on the amount of tissue collected 20 m offered the best results. Dart gun pressure had no effect on the amount of tissue samples obtained. The amount of tissue obtained from successful darts was the same whether the animal was darted on the shoulder or thigh. In this paper, we present a practical guideline for remote biopsy darting of wildebeest to obtain optimum amount of tissue samples, which could be generalized for similar wild land mammalian species

The performance of electric fences as elephant barriers in Amboseli, Kenya

Electric fencing is increasingly used as a tool for elephant (Loxodonta africana) conservation in human-dominated landscapes and there are few empirical studies to demonstrate that electrified barriers are effective in deterring elephants from raiding crops. The factors determining the effectiveness of electric fences are not fully understood. We assessed the performance of Namelok and Kimana fences in reducing human-elephant conflict by comparing the frequency of crop-raiding by elephants and the perceptions of farmers on the effect of the fences in reducing elephant crop-raiding within fenced and adjacent unfenced farmlands. We also examined the effect of intact fence wires, presence of current and amount of voltage on fence breakage by elephants. Electric fencing reduced elephant crop-raiding and other forms of human-elephant conflicts. Namelok fence was not broken by elephants whereas Kimana fence was broken several times probably because it borders Kimana Sanctuary which provided cover where elephants could retreat after crop-raiding. The mere presence of current did not minimize fence breakage by elephants. Elephants entered fenced areas more frequently when the fence wires were broken than when wires were intact. Our results suggest that, location of fences in relation to landscape factors, maintenance of effective non-electrified fences and proximity of fences to areas of high elephant concentration are significant determinants of fence performance in mitigating elephant crop-raiding

Aboveground Biomass Distribution in a Multi-Use Savannah Landscape in Southeastern Kenya: Impact of Land Use and Fences

Savannahs provide valuable ecosystem services and contribute to continental and global carbon budgets. In addition, savannahs exhibit multiple land uses, e.g., wildlife conservation, pastoralism, and crop farming. Despite their importance, the effect of land use on woody aboveground biomass (AGB) in savannahs is understudied. Furthermore, fences used to reduce human–wildlife conflicts may affect AGB patterns. We assessed AGB densities and patterns, and the effect of land use and fences on AGB in a multi-use savannah landscape in southeastern Kenya. AGB was assessed with field survey and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data, and a land cover map was developed using Sentinel-2 satellite images in Google Earth Engine. The highest woody AGB was found in riverine forest in a conservation area and in bushland outside the conservation area. The highest mean AGB density occurred in the non-conservation area with mixed bushland and cropland (8.9 Mg·ha−1), while the lowest AGB density (2.6 Mg·ha−1) occurred in overgrazed grassland in the conservation area. The largest differences in AGB distributions were observed in the fenced boundaries between the conservation and other land-use types. Our results provide evidence that conservation and fences can create sharp AGB transitions and lead to reduced AGB stocks, which is a vital role of savannahs as part of carbon sequestration

Parallel validation of a green-solvent extraction method and quantitative estimation of multi-mycotoxins in staple cereals using LC-MS/MS

In this study, 15 different mycotoxins were estimated in three staple cereals from selected agro-ecological regions in Nigeria using a 'novel' green extraction method, pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) in comparison to a conventional solvent extraction method. Discrimination of the results of PHWE and solvent extraction using principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) did not yield any differential clustering patterns. All maize samples (n=16), 32% (n=38) of sorghum and 35% (n=37) of millet samples were positive for at least one of the 15 tested mycotoxins. Contamination levels for the cereals were higher in the warm humid rain forest region and gradually decreased towards the hot and arid region in the north of the country. The results demonstrate the applicability of PHWE as a possible alternative extraction method to conventional methods of extraction, which are solvent based

In vitro fertilization program in white rhinoceros

The Anthropocene is marked by a dramatic biodiversity decline, particularly affecting the family Rhinocerotidae. Three of five extant species are listed as Critically Endangered (Sumatran, Javan, black rhinoceros), one as Vulnerable (Indian rhinoceros), and only one white rhino (WR) subspecies, the Southern white rhinoceros (SWR), after more than a century of successful protection is currently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, while numbers again are declining. Conversely, in 2008, the SWR’s northern counterpart and second WR subspecies, the Northern white rhinoceros (NWR), was declared extinct in the wild. Safeguarding these vanishing keystone species urgently requires new reproductive strategies. We here assess one such strategy, the novel in vitro fertilization program in SWR and – for the first-time NWR – regarding health effects, donor-related, and procedural factors. Over the past 8 years, we performed 65 procedures in 22 white rhinoceros females (20 SWR and 2 NWR) comprising hormonal ovarian stimulation, ovum pick-up (OPU), in vitro oocyte maturation, fertilization, embryo culture, and blastocyst cryopreservation, at an efficiency of 1.0 ± 1.3 blastocysts per OPU, generating 22 NWR, 19 SWR and 10 SWR/NWR hybrid blastocysts for the future generation of live offspring

Evaluation de l’efficacité de la macro-propagation des cultivars de bananiers les plus préférés au Kongo Central, en RD Congo

English: In the framework of the community management of Banana Buncy top disease in Congo, we tested the seed recovery option using positive selection of asymptomatic plants and macropropagation as an alternative seed source in BBTD affected landscapes. Varieties of banana and plantain were then compared based on the performance of community based micropropagation units and this is described in this article (published in French). L’objectif de cette recherche est de déterminer quel cultivar de bananier (Musa spp.), parmi les plus préférés de fermiers, peut être multiplié efficacement par la technique de Plants Issus des Fragments de tige (PIF). Vingt-neuf cultivars de bananier fortement productifs étaient soumis au test TAS-ELISA. Les plus préférés, représentés par seize cultivars et révélés négatifs, étaient multipliés par la technique PIF dans le propagateur suivant le dispositif complètement randomisé avec trois répétitions. Les plantules ainsi produites étaient testées à nouveau. Les résultats montrent un taux d’infection de 8 % parmi les échantillons des feuilles testés avant macro-propagation (1er test) et de 0 % après macro-propagation (2ème test). Des différences significatives (p < 0,05) se sont révélées entre les traitements pour tous les paramètres mesurés. La majorité des cultivars ont eu un taux de viabilité des explants de 100 %. Kimbuambua et Mfuba-Ndongila ont présenté la durée de reprise la plus courte (18,13 ± 0,80 jours). Le temps de sevrage le plus court (90,40 ± 3,14 jours) a été observé chez Mukama. Gros Michel s’est montré plus compétitif (42 ± 7,66 plantules) quant au nombre de plantules produites. Tous les cultivars ont été identifiés performants à la méthode PIF, mais à des niveaux différents