Ngilu defends tenure as minister

The Cabinet nominee for Lands, Housing and Urban development, Mrs Charity Ngilu, Friday defended herself against accusations of corruption when she was the Water minister.

Mrs Ngilu said accusations that she oversaw mismanagement of funds, especially for use in sinking boreholes, were made by corrupt individuals fighting her efforts to clean up the ministry.

She narrated how officials at the National Water Corporation threatened her to pay up inflated figures for constructing a borehole at Kangundo in Ukambani, demanding Sh1.4 billion for a project worth Sh800 million.

“I have been exonerated of any corruption allegations in a report by the committee of lands and natural resources,” she said, tabling an investigative report by the committee in the 10th Parliament.
A member of the public had questioned her suitability to head a Cabinet portfolio, due to her conduct at the Water ministry.

She, however, blamed an assistant minister at the ministry for being the source of the “unfounded” allegations. The former minister said the committee on equal opportunities, in the last Parliament cleared her of any wrongdoing for constructing water dams, and provision of water to dry regions.

Mrs Ngilu said she only dug more boreholes and dams in Ukambani totalling about Sh50 million but there were other areas where a single mega dam valued as much as Sh5 billion, were built, and wondered where accusations of favouritism arose from.

Mrs Ngilu, whose nomination and that of her colleague Najib Balala to the Cabinet caused an uproar, also defended her appointment of Ms Peris Tobiko, the sister to Drector of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko, as a director. She denied claims that the move was to seek favour so that investigations on her alleged involvement in corruption could be stopped.

The former Kitui Central MP said she made the appointment on March 2010, even before investigations into her alleged corrupt practices had emerged.She termed Ms Tobiko, as a qualified candidate who had applied for the job, and went on to perform well in her role.

Leader of Majority Parliament Aden Duale questioned whether Mrs Ngilu was ready to quit politics to which she replied that she would be away from politics during her tenure as Cabinet secretary, and only consider returning once her contract was over.

“The position of a Cabinet secretary is largely political but you will never see me addressing political rallies. At least not that form of political engagement,” she said.

Mrs Ngilu announced that she had resigned as Narc party leader, to signal her commitment to put aside active politics and focus on her new appointment.

She promised to use her experience as minister to provide leadership in her new docket, if approved by Parliament, saying affordable low cost housing for slum dwellers, automation of the Lands ministry and speedy adjudication and issuance of title deeds as some of her key priorities.