• The petitioner claimed the new landfill site was directly in the flight path leading to Kisumu Airport, also that it was polluting aquafers. Said there was no meaningful public participation.
• County rubbishes all claims of impropriety, danger to the environment, says tender was properly awarded, impact assessment carried out.
Image: FAITH MATETE
Senators have invited the anti-graft agency to probe the award of a Sh300 million tender to relocate a dumpsite in Kisumu.
The Senate Lands, Environment and Natural Resources committee asked the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the tender after it said it was unable to establish the facts.
“The committee notes that it was not presented with any evidence to support this [impropriety] allegation,” the committee observed.
“The committee therefore recommends this report be submitted to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission for investigation,” the report reads.
The county denied all allegations of impropriety, danger to the environment and other claims.
The committee was investigating claims of impropriety in the award of the tender by the county government to Naya Holdings Ltd for the transportation of waste from Kachok dumpsite to Kajulu landfill.
Kisumu Town East Shakeel Shabbir had petitioned the Senate to probe the allegations with a view to halting the relocation.
The MP said the relocation was degrading the environment and interfering with flights to and from Kisumu International Airport.
“The county government of Kisumu irregularly awarded the tender for the transportation of semi-inert waste from Kachok dumpsite to the Kajulu landfill and at an excessive price above market rates,” the MP alleged.
The MP had also claimed that no meaningful public participation was undertaken before the licence was issued, as required by law.
“The dumping of this waste in quarry pits in Kajulu has breached the underground aquifers in the area, thus, compromising the safety and quality of underground work,” the petition reads.
He said the new landfill site is directly in the Kisumu Airport flight path.
The committee said, however, it was not able to establish the facts because it was unable to visit the site due to Covid-19 safety measures. It said it has not received evidence to back the claim.
In its submission to the committee, the county government rejected claims of impropriety, saying award of the tender was above board.
“The process was competitively bid for and emanating from newspaper advertisement extracts dated July 4, 2018,” the submission read
The county said there were no records in the public procurement regulatory authority challenging the process for any incompetent award.
The committee agreed with the county that public participation did take place before relocation of the dumpsite, and was affirmed in a court decision
The county also rubbished the MP’s allegation the new landfill was in the flight path, would degrade the environment and lead to devaluation of property around the area.
“In the circumstances, the committee is satisfied that public participation was undertaken prior to commencement of rehabilitation of Kisumu Concrete Quarry using inert waste from Kachok dumpsite,” the report states.
The committee established that due diligence, including an environmental impact assessment, was done.
The National Environment Management Authority also issued an EIA certificate, sanctioning the relocation of the waste yard.
“The committee observed that the petitioner did not present any evidence to demonstrate that Kajulu site poses a threat to the environment or to flights while evidence from Nema, KCAA and the county government shows the site was inspected and approved for purposes of the landfill,” the senators' report reads.
(Edited by V. Graham)