Siaya governor James Orengo's brother Apolo Orengo has denied allegations that he was interfering with the process of awarding tenders at the devolved unit.
" I have nothing to do with the said procurement process that is going on. Let those making such allegations table evidence of my involvement," he told the Star on Saturday.
Orengo was reacting to allegations from section officers from the department of procurement who accused him of allegedly pushing for consideration of a list of contractors.
The officers sought anonymity for fear of being victimised .
Siaya County recently advertised tenders for various development projects worth over 900 million.
The 85 tenders include routine maintenance, grading , gravelling murmuring and opening of over 150 roads across the 30 wards in the county.
Contractors have until February 17, 2023 to submit their bids.
Orengo further challenged the officers to submit any evidence, if their claims were true.
"If they say there's a list of contractors that are being fronted by me or anyone else, let them provide the list," he said.
The county director of communications Ben Agina sprung into the defence of the devolved government saying the procurement is so far above board.
" The process is underway and will be done in conformity to the existing requirements of procurement. There can never be any underhand dealings. Even the governor himself has assured the public that it will be fair to all qualified contractors," he said.
Governor James Orengo publicly declared that any tender undertaken by his administration will be done transparently.
He also assured suppliers and contractors all procurement services will be given out to deserving contractors competitively and in accordance with the law.
EACC has several ongoing investigations which include 400 million graft probe, subsidised fertilizer procurement probe amongst others.
DCI also has an active case where Sh 600 million is said to have been misappropriated.
Over 50 staffers attached to finace department have since recorded statements with DCI detectives probing the matter.
Orengo's own taskforce, which he appointed in October 2022 , led by retired auditor general Edward Ouko revealed in its report last month that Sh 1 billion was stolen by some county staff between 2021 and 2022.
