Kiunjuri: officials ignored corruption claims

Public Works assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri has said he decided to go public about possible corruption in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation after top officials ignored him.

He said Minister Charity Ngilu and Permanent Secretary Eng David Stower his brushed aside his requests for meetings to look into the issues.

Mr Kiunjuri who was recently transferred from the Water Ministry said he was a frustrated man as he had on several occasions attempted to raise his concerns with the two with no success.

“Since January I have been raising these issues but no action was being taken and the meetings were very few,” he said, adding that it could have been part of the reason for his transfer.

The assistant minister, who shared his dossier on the alleged corruption with the parliamentary committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said he did not have confidence in the Ministry as it was unwilling to look into the issues and didn’t have faith in the government in general to prosecute the case.

"By July, I started engaging the Ministry on the issues I felt were not okay, but these issues were being ignored and when I was transferred, I sensed all was not going well, ” he told the committee at a meeting chaired by Gachoka MP Rev Mutava Musyimi.

Mr Kiunjuri, who served in the Water Ministry for about two and a half years, said he discovered improprieties in procurement of services, consultancy and pricing of equipment and paid a visit to areas of concern.

“The Minister and the PS didn’t seem it right to call me in Ministry meetings even after I informed them of the issues, I went to the Minister to tell her I felt there were serious issues but I was never given an opportunity,” he claimed.

The said projects, according to the assistant minister, number about 30 and are distributed across the country.

The Public Works assistant minister said he was left with no option but to present his evidence to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission after a last attempt to have a meeting on the issues failed in August.

“The Minister said she had no problem with me presenting the issues to Kacc after I told her my intentions, but we had agreed that we talk about the issues before I did so,” he said.

But this was after he also met the head of civil service Francis Muthaura and informed him of his concern and the PS promised to set up a team from the Controller and Auditor General’s office to audit the Ministry.

The assistant minister said for three months he couldn’t get a report on how services were being procured despite his position which allowed him to ask for such documents.

“And so when I was transferred, I felt Kenyans should know and decided I should do it with decorum and gave the information to Kacc,” he said.

He quoted an inspection report of the Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb) for the Tanathi Water Services Board and its agencies of March 2010 which pointed out the improprieties.

Mr Kiunjuri wants the committee to investigate whether the tendering process was competitive noting that two consultants had been awarded more three projects at the same time.

The assistant minister also wants the committee to find out why the PS in the Ministry wrote to the PS in the Office of the Prime Minister Mohammed Isahakia, suggesting who should undertake investigations in the Ministry rather than to the Finance Permanent Secretary Joseph Kinyua , who had written to him offering technical support regarding the issues of accountability and value for money as had been raised by Kenya Water and Sanitation CSOs network.

Further, he questions why Eng Stower decided to leave out Kacc and the internal auditor among those he copied his letter to even though the letter that he received from the Finance PS had been copied to them.

On issues relating to construction of dams, Mr Kiunjuri told the committee that out of the eight projects, three consultants have more than three projects each.

They are Runji who already had Bandisa dam in Marsabit and was subsequently given Nzoia, and Koru in Nyanza, Ms Samezi who already had Kiserian dam and also had two more-Mwache and Siyoi dam and M/S Otieno Odongo and Partners Consulting Engineers to an additional dam in Kitele.

“The questions that should be asked are were these additional projects awarded to the consultants through a competitive process, if so where is the documentation to that effect?", he posed.

On procurement, he raised issues of inflated prices showing some with a mark-up of up to 328 per cent when compared to normal market prices.

He gave examples of sandpaper at Sh 220 against a market price of as less as Sh 10, an axle frame at Sh 1,200 against a market price of Sh 150 to Sh 180 and much more.

The minister described his dossier as a tip on the ice-berg. While commending the minister for having overhauled bad management and cleaned bad practices in the Ministry when she assumed office, he expressed regret that the cycle seems to have been reinvented still under her watch.

“When we went there, she made sure she assassinated the dragon but it resurrected with time and yes, I was very frustrated that public funds were being ripped off,” he said responding to members questions.

The meeting was attended by MPs Kiema Kilonzo (Mutito), Peter Gitau (Mwea), Martin Ogindo (Rangwe, ODM) and Silas Ruteere (North Imenti).