MP Ayub Savula was named in lands agency ads probe
What you need to know:
In 2016, Mr Savula was accused of defrauding the National Land Commission (NLC).
In May 2014 alone, companies linked to Mr Savula received more than Sh30 million from the NLC as payment for adverts for vacancies, interviews and progress reports.
On Friday, Mr Savula and other suspects were arrested and later charged over a Sh2.5 billion scandal at the Government Advertising Agency (GAA).
This is not the first time Lugari MP Ayub Savula has been caught up in an advertisement scandal.
In 2016, Mr Savula was accused of defrauding the National Land Commission (NLC).
AUDIT
An internal audit on the expenditure of the NLC expressed concerns that the money paid to the MP for advertisements did not achieve the intended purpose — some advertisements were not published and "there was no value for money."
Auditors said that the advertisement did not provide a wide coverage, and that some items were published repeatedly, with money being paid each time.
In May 2014 alone, companies linked to Mr Savula received more than Sh30 million from the NLC as payment for adverts for vacancies, interviews and progress reports.
For instance, auditors found out that one of Mr Savula’s companies was paid Sh6.4 million for a 12-page May 31, 2014 advertisement for interview schedules.
“The spacing in the advertisement was extra large and there was no value for money,” the report said.
It added that an eight-page advertisement carried on weekly magazine Sunday Express two weeks before was published twice and a total of Sh11 million was paid out.
INTERVIEWS
The Sunday Express was also paid Sh782,787 by the land agency to advertise interviews for the posts of directors of survey and communications.
“The interviews were not initially advertised in the Sunday Express. No new data was published on the cancellation advert. The new advertisement on the same placed two weeks earlier on May 19, 2014 had a statement to the effect that it served as a cancellation of the previous advertisement,” the report said.
The agency even advertised for senior positions, determination of land reviews, gazettement of illegal lease forms, and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company’s Kisii-Awendo power wayleave notification, among others.
The auditors noted that procurement laws required that two national newspapers should carry the adverts, a threshold the publication did not satisfy. “The committee was of the view that this was not the best medium to notify foreigners owning land.”
The NLC had also advertised on other publications that did not meet the threshold, among them Executive Talk and Sun Weekly. Some of the recommendations called for the blacklisting of the firms' directors and recovery of the Sh46 million.
On Friday, Mr Savula and other suspects were arrested and later charged over a Sh2.5 billion scandal at the Government Advertising Agency (GAA).
