Atwoli: Tassia project fraudulent

Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli yesterday maintained that a decision to spend Sh5 billion of pensioners’ money to upgrade a housing scheme was illegal and amounted to fraud.

The umbrella workers union boss also recommended that the National Social Security Fund officers involved in the plan to upgrade the Tassia II housing scheme be held individually liable.

“This to me is fraud for those who understand what fraud is,” he said when he appeared before the Parliamentary Labour Committee.

Mr Atwoli, who went public about the controversial scheme, said the NSSF board never held a meeting to discuss approval of the funds.

SUSPICIOUS TIMING

The Cotu boss further argued that the amount involved was too huge to be dealt with through an email. “Sh5.053 billion is a not Sh500.

Such a colossal amount of workers money would require a full formal and substantive board to approve after debate and assurances on recovery of the same through proper presentations,” he stated.

He said the proposal did not go through his committee for recommendation and even denied having seen the e-mail.

Mr Atwoli argued that the board should have been taken through details of the expenditure by an expert before any decision was made.

He said the board, of which he is the chairman of the Finance and Investment Committee, had earlier made arrangements where the plot owners were to first pay for infrastructure.

It had been earlier agreed that the 5,500 plot owners pay the fund Sh650,000. The increase in the amount to Sh920,000 was the source of controversy.

Further, he argued that the matter was executed at Christmas time when “everyone” was on leave, raising further suspicion. He said there was no meeting on December 18 to approve the decision.

“How can someone talk of spending billions and go ahead to shamelessly circulate the same through an e-mail,” he said adding: “Somebody somewhere must be interested.”

The NSSF board and management have denied the allegations and defended their decision to revise the project cost from the initial Sh4.5 billion to Sh5 billion.