Barely a day after National Treasury indicted 15 counties over failure to pay suppliers and contractors, irate suppliers have signed a petition to the Trans Nzoia governor Patrick Khaemba to fire his health chief officer Charles Barasa.
The suppliers and contractors accused the chief officer of failure to pay them their pending bills for the time he has been in office since taking over from the then chief officer of health Maurice Wakwabubi who left the office after falling out with the powers that be.
Investigations by Weekly Citizen reveal that Barasa paid the governor’s chief of staff Patrick Simiyu close to Sh6 million for supplying beans, maize, charcoal and vegetables at the Trans Nzoia Level Four Hospital as other suppliers’ complaints remained unattended to.
Through their spokesperson, Nathaniel Wasike, the suppliers have written to the Directorate of Public Prosecution, the DCI and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate companies that have been used to siphon funds meant to pay suppliers and contractors, some of whose properties have been auctioned.
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Other officers in the ministry of Health among them one Hillary Mitei are said to have colluded with owners of Crossfate Limited, Letter Enterprises, Amazing Works Enterprises, Crossfate Enterprises and Minto Enterprises to con the county government through supply of air.
Local purchase orders number 3264081, 3003665, 3000515, 3003548 and 3003682 are just but a tip of the iceberg of the theft of the taxpayers’ money.
Recently, the health department misused over Sh1.6 million meant for the cervical cancer presided over by the county First Lady Lydia Khaemba, that was allegedly pocketed by Mitei.
Human rights activists, Leonard Barasa, while talking to this writer accused the county government of failing to discipline its officers whom he said are abusing their offices.
Efforts to get the chief officer for the right of reply failed as pressure piled to him to resign. The chief officer recently engaged suppliers in a fierce war of words which almost degenerated into a punch-up with a member of the disability committee only for his aide to draw a gun and fired in the air to scare them.
A source at the governor’s office at Town Hall has indicated that the chief officer who has fallen out with his CEC is set to be replaced in a looming reshuffle which Governor Khaemba will be undertaking. A day after the National Treasury indicted 15 counties over failure to pay suppliers and contractors, irate suppliers signed the petition.
The suppliers and contractors accused the chief officer of failure to pay them for the pending bills for the time he has been in office since taking over from the then chief officer of health Dr Wakwabubi. Khaemba has promised to remove deadwoods whom he has been blaming for ruining his lagacy.
