Workers at Kisumu county assembly now want the office of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to probe activities of the assembly.
DCI George Kinoti
In a petition, the workers want the DCI to institute urgent investigations into the conduct at the assembly officers.
They say government’s institutional offices tasked with fighting corruption in Kisumu are untrustworthy and they strongly believe that a lot of backroom bargains take place such that prosecution of corruption masterminds within both the Kisumu county executive and the Kisumu county assembly is impossible and as such that blatant financial misappropriation of public finances goes unabated.
In the petition, they claim that the tender for the supply of the Ipads to the county assembly in the 2017/18 financial year was done by Kolwa Central MCA, a Mr Olwal. The tender was overpriced.
It further states that the tender for supply of furniture to the MCAs offices countywide was worth only Sh13 million and were sourced from prisons yet a payment of Sh22 million was effected against the same.
“The speaker roped in the assembly board in this scheme where he called a meeting with the supplier in the speaker’s office and had their negotiations on how the loot was to be shared,” says the petition.
It further states that a company by the name Ritco Tours and Travels is being used to pilfer Sh2 million payment from the assembly’s Kenya Commercial Bank accounts to the tour firm.
They aver that the assembly does a lot of payments through cheques yet the public finance management act says payments to suppliers and service providers should be through the Ifmis. “Kindly investigate the cheques paid against the vouchers,” petition adds.
“Kindly probe the Ethiopia trip and all foreign trips by the MCAs. A one-man consulting firm whose procurement to work for the assembly was unprocedural was used. Why should a Kenyan offering consultancy services to Kenyans go and offer it in a foreign country? Probe all the services offered by this person,” they demand in the petition.
They say the speaker procured rental offices for the assembly staff at Mega Plaza on 10th floor at a monthly rent of Sh800,000 and a goodwill of Sh5 million, adding that the offices remain unoccupied yet three months’ rent has been paid. Procurement procedures were not adhered to yet the county has a lot of vacant office at the county headquarters.
Prof Nyong’o
They say the speaker went for a fully donor-funded two-week official function in the UK and according to the assembly records, he was paid all the allowances from the assembly coffers.
“Kindly investigate how Sh20 million was paid for the assembly conference facilities,” adds the petition.
They now want sleuths to probe the assembly’s KCB accounts held at the Kisumu main branch especially transactions between November 2017 and May 2018, together with the accounts of MCA Awasi Ngeta whose companies are used by the speaker to misappropriate money in the the supply of tables to the assembly among others.
They say firms that were not prequalified in 2017/18 financial year are used where these firms are given Yagpo certificates to enable them beat the procurement systems. “Kindly, probe a firm by the name, Guru IT which was used in the procurement of a tender for e-trade licence.
This was a World Bank fully funded project and these people simply make documentations and siphon out payments claiming it’s Guru IT that did the works. Staff in the ICT department who refused to cooperate were threatened and documentation transferred to the finance department,” they stated.
Similarly, they want sleuths to probe AC/No 0100005493158 held at CFC Bank Kisumu since this is the account used for money laundering by the CECs. They say it is where contractors make kickback deposits and also where cash looted from the county coffers is banked
They want the officers to investigate the chief finance officer whose qualification for the position is in doubt and who allegedly operates a money laundering account at Equity Bank Premiere branch in Kisumu and who recently bought two houses in Kisii town.
When the governor was sick in the USA, he was paid a per diem of Sh2 million. How does one earn a per diem when on sick leave, they query?
They say the county secretary is in office illegally and should be probed if his appointment at all was procedurally done.
They add the CEC for trade and industry Richard Ogendo and the director of special programmes Ruth Adhiambo are facing criminal charges and have taken plea in the Kisumu High Court
They want those who have been employed between September 2017 to date, be probed as well as their qualifications as no procedures were followed and so they are earning salaries and allowances which they do not deserve.
“Probe the supply of non pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical in the 2017/18 year at Joorth. Non prequalified companies associated with the deputy governor are the culpable ones,” they say.
They further state that four Cuban doctors seconded to Kisumu are staying in Ruby Court Milimani Estate in a house owned by the county CEC health at a rent of 280,000 per month paid for by the county health department.
