Only five of the 30 procurement officers suspended by Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko have received show-cause letters.
This is according to Boniface Waweru, the Nairobi Secretary of the
Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU).
Sonko punished the officers on Friday in a live Facebook feed, saying they had inflated prices.
Anxiety gripped the county offices on Monday as those affected awaited official communication.
But Waweru said
further action was taken against only five employees and that the rest were transferred to other
departments.
"The Governor has rescinded his earlier call and only given five officers show-cause letters. The rest have been transferred," he said in a phone interview.
The union earlier said it learned of the suspensions through social media.
In a letter dated April 19, the Governor asked the accused officials to step aside with immediate effect to pave way for investigations.
“You are hereby required to proceed on leave with immediate effect pending complete investigations of your role and culpability [in this matter]," he said.
The Governor showed documents of Local Purchase Orders paid without necessary approval.
The officers were also accused of failing to adhere to the Public Finance Management Act as well as the public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, leading to loss of funds at the county.
The suspensions would have derailed the county's projects for financial year
2016/17, that is ending in June, as procurement processes would have stalled.
Currently, the finance department does not have an executive and chief officer as they were sacked earlier this month on allegations of working against the Governor.
Sonko fired Finance executive Danvas Makori and named Newton Munene as his replacement. He also sacked
Chief Officer Ekaya Alumasi.
The county boss is on the spot over key issues including garbage collection, the traffic menace, the CBD takeover by hawkers and water shortages.
He has promised to fight corruption and take serious action against guilty officials in order to fulfill his promises to Nairobians.
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