Treasury now says Sh57 million released to Tanathi Water Services Board under the Kazi Kwa Vijana programme has been misappropriated.
Financial secretary Mutua Kilaka told a parliamentary committee probing corruption allegations at Charity Ngilu’s Water ministry that 50 percent of the KKV funds to the water services board cannot be accounted for.
Kilaka sai Sh118 million was allocated to Tanathi Water Services Board under the KKV programme during the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 financial years.He said the first phase of audit by Treasury also established that cash received by the services board from Water ministry, the African Development Fund and the National Irrigation board was not properly utilised.
He did not however give the actual figures received by the water services board from ADB and other donors. Kilaka told the committee that Treasury is in the process of conducting phase two of the audit which will capture such details.
The Finance secretary said Treasury is currently auditing how TWSB has utilised a further Sh4 billion allocated to it during the 2010/11 financial year under KKV.
The Lands and Natural Resources
committee chaired by Gachoka MP Mutava Musyimi is investigating claims of
corruption within the Ministry of Water.
Ngilu has maintained she is innocent claiming some individuals are out to fix
her after she stopped corrupt cartels which have been siphoning public monies
for many years in the ministry.
The finance secretary appeared before the committee accompanied by Treasury’s internal auditor General Phillip Ndung’u and chief internal auditor Thomas Okongo.
Kilaka said out of the Sh57 million the auditors found have been
misappropriated, Sh28 million was pumped into projects not related to KKV. Some
Sh9 million was lost through overpricing of procured goods. “Some items were procured at 300
percent more than the prevailing market rates,” said Kilaka who appeared before
the committee on behalf of Treasury PS Joseph Kinyua.
Kilaka said Sh5 million paid to suppliers who did not deliver and Sh6 million
lost through non remittance of VAT deductions to the Kenya Revenue Authority.
An imprest of Sh1.8 million advanced to some staff members of the Tanathi Water Services Board was also not accounted for, said the finance secretary.
He said the board had used
some money to pay for undelivered goods and services. He said in procurement,
the services board violated the procurement procedures. He said out of the 13
companies the board awarded contracts, records on who are the directors of
eight of them could not be traced at the registrar of companies’ data base. He
however said treasury had used what he termed as “other channels” to establish
who the directors of the 8 companies are. Among the eight, he said, include
Karesh Hardware whose directors include onr Richard Kalembe Ndile.
At the same time, the board of directors of the National Water
Conservation and Pipeline Corporation were stood down by the committee after
they differed with their chairman Geofrey Mang’uria.
All board members publicly clashed
with the chairman maintaining that the report he was presenting before the
committee was not a collective position of the board.
