Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina wants the county government investigated over wastage of resources allegations.
He was referring to the Auditor General’s report that the county failed to either explain or reconcile Sh300,644,879.
Yesterday, the senator said it is unfortunate that such an amount can be unaccounted for, yet people are suffering for lack of drugs in hospitals.
The audit report indicates that physical inspection in the county showed that Sh15 million drugs and Sh800,000 non-pharmaceutical items in 31 health facilities had expired expired. “It was not explained why the drugs were procured beyond the required levels, leading to expiration and loss of public funds,” the report says.
A comment from Finance executive Robert Thuo was not forthcoming.
“Nyeri residents have been agonising over lack of drugs and I would like to call on all government investigating organs such as the EACC and the DCI to come on the ground and follow-up on the matter,” the senator said.
Maina said more needs to be done to fight corruption. “We are only reading about the two dams in Elgeyo Marakwet, but corruption is everywhere,” he said.
“When we hear that Sh21 billion is lost and another one billion is lost in the NYS, then that tells you we need to take strict measures against corruption,” he said.
A billion shillings can buy medicine needed in Nyeri in a year, he said.
The legislator said Kenyans will have confidence in war on corruption only if governors, senators, MPs, Cabinet secretaries and Principal secretaries are jailed.
He said some public officers get rich shortly after elections or appointment to office.
The senator decried many problems besetting tea and coffee farmers. He faulted the management and pricing in the tea industry, saying that they are the reasons why farmers were paid either a pittance or nothing despite tea fetching good prices in auctions.
“There are other malpractices such as many deductions, which are not properly explained to the farmer,” he said.
Maina said tea farmers should be voting on the basis of one-man one-vote unlike in the current policy where those who own many tea bushes and more shares have a bigger say during elections.
The legislator said he will push for the insertion of some issues hurting tea farmers in the tea bill currently in the Senate. He also called for the punishment of those who deposited farmers' money in banks that collapsed.
Maina lamented that coffee farmers live in misery and factories are closing down.
He said feared that tea and milk sectors may go the coffee way. “Tea and coffee should be accorded subsidies just like other crops, such as sugarcane and maize, because they are the most important cash crops in the country.”
