The political feuds revolving Kajiado governor Joseph Ole Lenku and MCAs allied to UDA are far from over.
At the centre of the storm is the Auditor General’s report linking the governor and his team to massive corruption within the county.
Ole Lenku approved Sh45 million to the National Hospital Insurance Fund which is the premium for the financial year 2021-2022, however, confirmation of the amount received by the fund revealed that less money was received from the county, putting in doubt the actual amount sent to the fund by the county.
The report further reveals that the county had a budget of Sh150 million for scholarships and other educational benefits. Out of the amount, Sh4.5 million, or 3pc was allocated to administration costs, and the balance of Sh145 million was to be distributed equally to the wards as per the Kajiado county bursary fund Act of 2015, where each ward was to receive Sh5,820,000. It could not be confirmed as the minutes and lists of beneficiaries from 15 wards were not availed for audit.
Further analysis of the vouchers for bursary disbursement revealed that beneficiaries identified at the wards level were later replaced with other students. This was contrary to the principles of section 10 of the Kajiado county bursary fund Act 2015, on fairness in the allocation of money, equitable distribution of the allocation of money to all parts of the ward, inclusivity, and non-discrimination in the distribution of bursary funds. In the circumstances, management was in breach of the law.
The county executive also awarded a contract for the upgrade of various Kiserian market roads to Cabro standards at a sum of Sh62,327,588 but an audit and inspection carried out on July 19 2022, revealed that the street lighting and installation were valued at Sh2,450,000 had not been executed yet; they were included in the contract, and the roads did not have proper road signage for users’ directions.
Further, a tender for the upgrade of Juanco-Olepolos Road to bitumen standards was awarded at a contract sum of Sh57,378,472. The tender specifications required bidders to have an Access to Government Procurement Opportunities certificate but the contracted tenderer did not have an AGPO certificate.