The Senate Public Accounts and Investment Committee has ordered Kajiado to deduct Sh40,000 from the pay of MCAs and other senior officials for the over-priced cell phones and laptops the county bought.
The money will be deducted from salaries of the speaker, clerk, MCA members of the Speaker’s Panel, the majority and minority leaders and the majority and minority whips.
The committee asked the Auditor General to probe allegations that three MCAs irregularly received double allowance of Sh90,000 and Sh511,020 for ‘attending’ two concurrent functions in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Yesterday, Kajiado assembly clerk Daniel Konyango said the county bought the phones, laptops and iPads, contrary to a March 2010 circular from the Office of President. It set the limit at Sh30,000 each.
The county bought communications devices at Sh70,000 each but it followed procurement laws, he said.
The senators disputed Konyango, saying that in 2014 the phones – Samsung Note 3s – were not selling at the given price.
They asked why the office of the speaker spent Sh42,750 for lunch in Kitengela on June 3 last year, at a cost of Sh2,250 per plate.
Kajiado Senator Peter Mositet said no hotel or restaurant in Kitengela sells food at such a high price.
He said official Vincent Teyian, who bought the food, should be surcharged.
Senators also asked Konyango why the assembly gave all contracts on legislative drafting to Mosyoki Magaka & Co Advocates.
The committee said it will not condone corruption in counties.