Ngilu puts Ministry officials on notice over graft

Water minister Charity Ngilu has put on notice all officers in her Ministry over corruption.

In an unsolicited statement in Parliament, Ms Ngilu gave details of goings-on in three parastatals under her docket that have of late been in the news over corruption and gross mismanagement.

“I will not allow misappropriations of funds allocated to my Ministry for the development of water resources,” said Ms Ngilu.

The minister named the Tana-Athi Water Services Board, the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Company and the Nairobi Water Company as among those under investigation over money scandals.

Pending bills are also part of the minister’s headache as she seeks to streamline the water sector.

The minister told Parliament that one contractor had already put in a Sh513 million claim at the National Water Corporation but when she asked for evidence, the contractor said he didn’t have any.

“All along I thought that this was a genuine claim. But when he had neither the LPO (local purchase order) nor a delivery note, I told the Treasury not to bother looking for money. We won’t pay,” said Ms Ngilu. “Sometimes, I think it is good the fire came up, otherwise, we’d not have found out about the magnitude of the scandal.”

The minister also disclosed that the collections at the Nairobi Water Company had increased by Sh200 million over the last two months, since the government moved in to sort the mess at a company that was “on its knees.”

The current monthly bill stands at Sh450 million, she said.

“I will not entertain any mismanagement to frustrate our aim of giving Kenyans enough water,” she said.

However, Dr Boni Khalwale (New Ford Kenya) poked holes into the minister’s claim of her docket as the epitome of efficiency.

“Could the monthly collections have increased because consumers are being overcharged and not because of improved efficiency?”

Garsen MP Danson Mungatana (Narc Kenya) told off Ms Ngilu: “We don’t want long stories. When will the minister arrest, prosecute and jail a big fish involved in these scandals?”

The minister replied: “As much as you think that I am lamenting, I am just trying to put things right.”

She said she was cracking down on illegal water connections.