Speaker blows whistle on ‘lost billions’
What you need to know:
- Mr Wahome said an illegally constituted tender committee sanctioned the implementation of projects whose cost was inflated.
- Sources indicated that the existence of an illegal tender committee alongside the legal one is what made the county secretary Charles Kireru to resign recently.
- “These companies are taking all the money given to this county back to Nairobi where they are based,” the speaker added.
Nyandarua County has lost billions of shillings in irregular contracts and inflated cost of goods, its County Speaker Ndegwa Wahome sensationally claimed on Tuesday.
Mr Wahome said an illegally constituted tender committee sanctioned the implementation of projects whose cost was inflated. The Speaker alleged that there are two parallel tender committees, one of which was operating illegally and more powerful.
Speaking at a one-day seminar organised by Media Focus On Africa at the ACK church in Ol Kalou town, he said all the contracts went to 15 Nairobi-based companies that are favoured by the committee, he said.
CLERK RESIGNATION
“These companies are taking all the money given to this county back to Nairobi where they are based,” the speaker added.
The Sh3.7 billion allocated to the counties does not make any impact on the economy.
He revealed that in one contract, the cost of building one toilet went from Sh800,000 to four million.
Sources indicated that the existence of an illegal tender committee alongside the legal one is what made the county secretary Charles Kireru to resign recently.
The speaker said the County Assembly will not relent in its oversight role.
He said “serious incidents” of corruption were happening in the county and urged the media, human rights activists and tax payers to help the county slay the dragon.
He praised the assembly’s Public Investment and Accounts Committee for producing a credible report on renovation of the governor’s office where the tax payer lost millions of shillings.
The speaker said the assembly was also investigating a water project where Sh54 million has been paid to a foreign company to draw water master plan for the County.
He revealed that MCAs are investigating the upgrade of roads.
The county government claims to have repaired roads which the national government, through the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) had worked on. Mr Wahome said the Assembly would also investigate how money for the construction of boda boda sheds was used as they were not built.
