• Kickback claims rock government project in Tana River.
•Governor threatens to punch Finance CEC for running parallel government.
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
A high-ranking member of the Orange Democratic Party (office pictured) is on the spot. Why? Sources whisper to Corridors the man used his wife to win lucrative contracts in blatant breach of the law. The politician and his wife registered several firms, some in the names of their children, which they used to do big business with the government and make quick cash. In a clear conflict of interest, the wife would sign documents as a government employee for her own family firms. She hopped from ministry to ministry with her sleazy behaviour. After making bags of cash, the family moved from crowded Eastlands to posh Karen Estate. Some insiders in government have compiled a dossier on this scandal and things could soon begin to unravel.
Recently, we told you of a multi-million shilling National government project in Tana River where the tendering process is a tightly guarded secret. Well, there is word that the bidders who have been pushing for feedback on their bids may have to wait longer, or may not get any response at all. Impeccable sources intimate to Corridors that one company has been awarded the tender, hence, the disappearance of files with information on the project's procurement. There is worry that a benefit of Sh6 million was extended to the who's who in the project's value chain.
A governor from Western on Wednesday last week got so angry with his Finance minister that he almost punched him because of the disappearance of some cash that had been earmarked for a development project. The incident caused high drama at the Finance department and brought the section to a standstill. The angry county boss charged at the minister whom he accused of "running a parallel government" in his administration. Three officials caught up in the melee fled for safety from the small office. Unable to get an explanation for the cash, the governor promised a raft of changes in the department he claims is behind the rot in his administration.
Aides to a lawmaker who is having problems with his sponsoring party are reaching out to the MP’s friends. They want them to talk to the lawmaker whose defiance of the party position will cost them their jobs. The concerned staffers are worried that their boss is being left alone and exposed, while some of his colleagues who were in the bad books of the party leader mended fences and have been pardoned. Last week the terrified staff confronted one of the close allies of the legislator, pleading with him to "ask your friend to go slow for the sake of our families."