Impeached Nandi CEC defends himself

The impeached Nandi county CED for Finance Alfred Lagat has defended himself over claims of impropriety and his hard-line stand on pending bills.

Lagat said he was ready to defend himself before the assembly as some allegations are beyond his ability and that of the county government to control.

On Monday, he told the Star on the phone the county paid about Sh800 million on pending bills, out of the original Sh1.2 billion.

He said slow disbursement from the Treasury to counties were issues beyond him as a CEC for finance. He said he would provide a detailed report to the assembly as soon as he’s given a right of reply.

In an unprecedented move, the Nandi assembly last week impeached Lagat and sent a warning to Governor Stephen Sang that he would also face MCAs' wrath if he fails to streamline his government.

Lagat had been accused of slow payments of pending bills, low revenue collections and snubbing assembly committees,

However, Lagat clarified that revenues had drastically increased especially after the introduction of the automation of fees and charges collection.

“I will provide a comprehensive report to the assembly, the allegations were not true. Despite tough economic times as business has greatly gone down, we have improved,” The CEC said.

He defended himself against allegations of financial improprieties, saying most claims against him resulted from "ghost projects" the county has refused to fund as they don’t exist.

“It would be a tragedy to settle bills that are not there…we will be in serious problems if at some point we are required do verify. How do we explain?" he asked.

The CEC is expected to appear before an assembly ad hoc committee to defend himself.

The committee is chaired by Emmanuel MCA Mengeech of Lessos ward. He will take members through accusations point by point before a final verdict is reached and handed over to Sang for acton.

(Edited by V. Graham)