Nandi Governor Stephen Sang is under pressure from the electorate to change tact over allegations of misappropriation of public funds by senior officials in his administration. Mr Sang, now serving his second and final term as governor, is currently involved in a spat with his Senator Samson Cherargei who accuses the governor of presiding over a corrupt administration.
The two fell out badly after the Senator claimed that Nandi County is lagging behind neighbouring counties on development matters, specifically in the health sector. Attempts to reconcile them failed after the Senator purportedly demanded that the national government should take over the running of the health function from Governor Sang’s administration. In a quick rejoinder, the Governor told his Senator off, adding that the Senator was only playing politics while seeking sympathy votes in his quest to become governor in 2027.
The Senator had also queried an irregular payment of Ksh. 175 million for the provision of medical insurance cover, a review of records and supporting documents revealed that a payment voucher for the amount could not be traced. Further, a payment voucher for Ksh. 100m was not supported with a Local Service Order (LSO) as is a requirement. It has also been discovered that the professional opinion by the Head of the Procurement function was issued on October 14, 2021, while the tender evaluation was done on October 28, 2021, 14) days after the professional opinion was given contrary to Regulation 78 (2) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Regulations, 2020.
Further, letters appointing the Tender Opening Committee Members and the Committee’s minutes cannot be traced. The contract agreement was to come into force on the date of execution of the agreement and to continue for an initial period of 12 months from the effective date. The contract agreement did not, however, indicate the date the agreement was entered into. Therefore, it was not possible to determine the effective date or the initial period.
On the bloated workforce, the statement of receipts and payments reflects compensation for employees of Ksh.3, 649,417,748, or 49% of the total revenue of Ksh.7, 534,802,849. This is contrary to the provisions of Regulation 25 (1) (b) of the Public Finance Management Act (County Governments).
The statement of receipts and payments reflects the compensation of employees of Ksh.3, 649,417,748. Analysis of payrolls revealed that 213 employees were paid through both IPPD and manual payrolls a total of Ksh.221, 723,160. Governor Sang’s administration explained that the payments outside IPPD were for airtime allowances and salary increments. The detailed list of the officers, amounts, and authorities was never traced.
