Leaders urge EACC to prosecute Nyeri MCAs over missing Sh146m
Nyeri County Assembly Public Accounts Committee Chairman Baragu Mutahi reads a report during a session on August 24, 2016. Some leaders in Nyeri have petitioned EACC to prosecute ward representatives after the Auditor-General's report indicated they could have siphoned Sh146 million. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- On the spot are, Karatina MCA Joel Gichuru and Chinga’s Paul Ngiria.
- Mr Amos Mureithi and Ms Rose Kamau, both aspirants, said the MCAs are acting with impunity.
- However, Mr Gichuru has refuted claims that his office is dormant.
- In his report, the Auditor-General noted that the Chinga office could not even be traced.
Some leaders in Nyeri have petitioned the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) to prosecute ward representatives for allegedly siphoning Sh146 million.
The leaders, who include 13 aspirants in the 2017 elections, handed their petition to EACC.
They asked EACC to investigate claims of graft against two MCAs, Karatina’s Joel Gichuru and Chinga’s Paul Ngiria, as pointed in the Auditor-General’s report.
According to the report, the county assembly spent Sh1.2 million on non-existent offices.
Mr Amos Mureithi and Ms Rose Kamau, both aspirants, said the MCAs are acting with impunity.
While receiving the petition Central Region EACC Director Jackson Mue said the agency will speed up the probe.
In his report, the Auditor-General noted that the Chinga office could not even be traced yet the county assembly allocated money for its running.
REFUTED CLAIMS
However, Karatina MCA Joel Gichuru has refuted claims that his office is dormant and wastefully spent public funds as indicated in the report.
According to the Deputy Speaker, the Auditor-General’s report is misleading and has only tainted his name.
“The amount paid for the dormant ward offices should be fully recovered from the respective MCAs and they be held accountable,” said the report, revealing wasteful spending by assemblies.
In Karatina Ward, the messenger and the secretary worked on alternate days yet a secretary, messenger and a watchman received Sh27,000, Sh13,000 and Sh10,000 as monthly salaries.
But the MCA argued that the secretary only failed to report to work on days that he required her to handle matters away from the office.
“Occasionally my secretary was not in the office but was still attending to official duty. There was no time any of them failed to attend to their duties,” he noted.
According to the auditor, the operational costs and salaries paid to the employees cost the county Sh600,000 which the ward rep is to be held accountable for.
