Embattled IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba has dismissed reports he authorised payment of Sh250 million for supply of additional electronic voter identification devices used in 2013 general election.
Chiloba who is currently on a three-month suspension on Tuesday said as the incoming CEO at that time, he only reviewed the invoices and established that there was no adequate ground to support the invoice claim.
He therefore paid Sh 2,533,174.80 to discharge the obligation during the 2014/15 financial year.
Former CEO James Oswago has faulted Chiloba for paying of the Sh250 million.
Oswago told the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee that the commission unanimously agreed to procure 4,000 kits in addition to the 30,000 Face Company had been contracted for.
He said the company delivered 34,600 kits instead of the agreed 34,000.
"I declined to pay after receiving the invoice because we had not ordered for additional 4,600 kits," he said on Thursday.
"This was not paid under my tenure. Chiloba joined the commission and within three months, he had paid. "If I paid for the 4,600 additional kits, I would be in Kamiti prison. To date, there is no formal contract between the IEBC and the company for the delivery of those 4,600 additional kits."
But Chiloba said the Auditor General in his audit queries did not make an adverse finding against the procurement or payment for the handled devices.
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He said the report largely addresses the procurement and payment of the laptop devices.
"In my submission to PAC where I was called upon in my capacity as the sitting accounting officer to respond to issues raised from the expenditures that supported the 2013 general elections, I reiterated that the question of the validity of variation of the contract is a subject of a criminal trial," he said.
Chiloba said in that case what the court will be determining the validity of supply of laptop solution as opposed to the handheld solution.
But Ouko in his report said although there was no new contract signed between the parties, correspondences indicated that the IEBC irregularly accepted change in the specification with differences in prices and value of goods and services.
Thus Ouko said as a result IEBC could not account for over Sh 1.67 billion used to pay for 30,000 pieces of laptops it ineffectively used during the 2013 elections.
Ouko said IEBC in email communication with contractors ordered for extra 4,000 units of Voter Identification Devices whose price was similar to the 30,000 unite ordered earlier.
The auditor, however, said the responsibility for procurement of the additional electronic identification devices rests with the past management.