Resign over cash scam, Ongeri told

Pressure Thursday mounted for Education minister Sam ongeri and his permanent secretary to step down to allow for investigations into the loss of free primary education funds.

At the same time, teachers denied attending workshops through which millions of shillings were lost.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and education civil society organisations said that if Prof Ongeri and Prof Karega Mutahi do not resign, then President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga should sack them.

“We ask the two principals to relieve them of their duties if they do not step down,” Knut secretary-general Lawrence Majali said.

Workshops fake

The same view was shared by Mr Andiwo Obondoh of the Elimu Yetu Coalition, a group of civil society organisations working in the education sector.

Speaking to the Press, Mr Majali described the so-called teachers’ workshops as fake, saying they were used as conduits by individuals to siphon government funds. He said teachers never attended them.

The ‘workshops’ said to have been conducted across the country in June were meant to help teachers deliver content to their pupils more professionally.

Knut said the two need to take responsibility for the loss of funds under their watch.

“It is disheartening to hear the minister claim that his junior staff are responsible. He has to take political responsibility for the loss,” Mr Majali said.

“Where does the buck stop?” he asked.

In government business, the minister is the political leader of the ministry while the PS is his accounting officer.

Flanked by top officials of the union, Mr Majali also asked Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta to declare the amount that he had disbursed for free education.

This, they said, would help clear the air on the actual amount that had been lost. They condemned the erratic manner in which the funds have been disbursed. “The constant delays in the release of funds raise a lot of questions,” Mr Majali said.

Mr Obondoh said the fraud that was reported after the UK threatened to suspend its contribution was only a tip of the iceberg, saying that there is need to probe the programme since it was started. “We urge Kacc to open the net wide and look at all the expenditure patterns in the ministry over the past 5 to 10 years,” he said.

Another teachers’ union, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) told the Finance minister to step in and ensure that the programme was not affected even if donors withdrew their funds.

Kuppet secretary-general Njeru Kanyamba also called for prosecution of all the officials to be implicated in the theft.

No cover-up

At his weekly briefing, government spokesperson Alfred Mutua said the government would ensure that there was no cover-up in the ongoing investigations.

“The President is very clear that all the money should be accounted for and anyone involved in the alleged scam will be dealt with,” he said.

Similarly, the National Anti-Corruption Campaign Steering Committee yesterday welcomed President Kibaki’s move to order investigations into the theft.

Campaign chairman Archbishop Eliud Wabukala said those responsible for the fraud must be brought to book.

Former Knut secretary-general Francis Ng’ang’a said the culprits ought to be “dismissed and punished severely” for messing up children’s education. Mr Ng’ang’a is a member of the anti-graft committee.

Additional reporting by Alphonce Shiundu