• Senate committee invites EACC to probe Governor Kivutha Kibwana over Sh1.4 billion projects
• The committee summoned the governor after he failed to turn up for questioning over audit queries
Image: JACK OWUOR
The Senate watchdog committee on Thursday invited the ethics agency to probe Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana over suspected fraud in Sh1.4 billion projects.
The Senate County Public Accounts and Investments Committee was acting on the petition of a Makueni resident.
The Senators have also summoned Kibwana after he snubbed an invitation to answer to audit queries.
The resident, in a dossier presented to the committee by Narok Senator Ledama Olekina, outlined 12 projects which he claimed were used to siphon public funds.
Committee chairman Moses Kajwang forwarded the dossier to the anti-graft agency and recommended immediate probe to unearth the alleged loss of funds.
“I am completely perplexed because I thought that for one, we would be able to go through a county that appears to be clean. I am afraid that there is more than meets the eye in Makueni county,” Olekina said.
“The reason Makueni continues to receive unqualified opinion is that they were very good at putting together their books but not the issue of the lawfulness in the use of public funds,” he added.
While tabling the document, Olekina cited several conflicts of interest, stalled projects and substandard work as some of the means the county could have lost funds.
Olekina tabled the dossier in Kitui where the oversight committee had convened to grill the governor over the 2017-18 audit queries.
The audit gave Kibwana administration a clean bill of health. Nyandarua was the only other county whose books satisfied the auditor.
Kibwana has been admired as a model governor with several leaders visiting the county to benchmark.
“We wanted the governor for Makueni to tell us what it is that he has done to get an unqualified opinion. It is not always doom and gloom, we wanted to learn from Makueni,” Kajwang said.
Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr said, “I had praised the county of Makueni of having an unqualified opinion. Unknown to me, this appears to be a doctored report. I would rather lose a few votes but we will get to the bottom of this.”
The committee summoned Kibwana to appear for questioning at the Makueni county assembly chambers in Wote Town on October 1.
In a letter to the committee, the governor said he was out of the country on official engagements and requested the meeting rescheduled.
His absence came just a day after his Machakos counterpart Alfred Mutua failed to appear before the same committee.
In the dossier, the resident, who opted to remain anonymous, listed the Sh1 billion Kalamba Fruit plant which was initiated in 2013.
“It has never produced anything for the market as it publicly purported to be. It is currently producing mineral water for an unknown water company,” it reads.
The Sh220 million Thwake bridge, Sh40 million water drilling rig, Sh4 million Shina Foundation, Sh24 million Chullu valley water project and Sh26 million Ngwitha water project in Kikumbulyu South and Northwards in Kibwezi are some of the projects mentioned.
Ledama said the Thwake bridge was constructed by Prime Quantifiers Limited Company which had allegedly been undertaking all major projects in the county.
He claimed that the Sh4 million Shina Foundation which distributes sanitary towel is owned by Kivutha’s wife.
Others are Sh26 million Masongaleni water project, Kathasyo dispensary in Nguu-Musumba ward, Wote Town water project and ENEE radio FM which he claimed was equipped using public money and later leased to the governor’s confidant.
In the audit report that thumped up the county’s financial management, the Auditor flagged projects worth Sh146 million had either not started or had stalled for various explained reasons.