The political war between Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku and members of the county assembly allied to the UDA party continues to escalate with fresh threats of impeachment against the governor emerging. According to sources, MCAs allied to the UDA party and some from the Azimio coalition want action taken against the governor based on reports that he has abused his office by engaging in corruption.
The MCAs claim that a report by the Auditor General has exposed corrupt practices under the governor, but no action has been taken by the national government. According to the report, the governor is said to have approved the payment of Ksh. 45 million to the National Hospital Insurance Fund, which is the premium for the financial year 2021-2022, however, confirmation of the amount received by the Fund revealed that less money was received from the County Executive, putting in doubt the accuracy and completeness of actual amount sent to the Fund by the county executive.
The report further reveals that the County Executive had a budget of Ksh. 150 million for scholarships and other educational benefits. Out of the amount, Ksh. 4.5 million, or 3 per cent, was allocated to administration costs, and the balance of Kshs. 145 million was to be distributed equally to the wards as per the Kajiado County Bursary Fund Act of 2015, where each ward was to receive Kshs. 5,820,000, however, it could not be confirmed, as the minutes and lists of beneficiaries from 15 wards were not availed for audit.
Further analysis of the vouchers for bursary disbursement revealed that beneficiaries identified at the Wards level were later replaced with other students. This was contrary to the principles of Section 10 of the Kajiado County Bursary Fund Act, 2015, on fairness in the allocation of monies, equitable distribution of the allocation of monies to all parts of the ward, inclusivity, and non-discrimination in the distribution of bursary funds. In the circumstances, management was in breach of the law.
The County Executive also awarded a contract for the upgrade of various Kiserian Market Roads to cabro standards at a sum of Ksh. 62,327,588 but an audit and inspection carried out on July 19, 2022, revealed that the street lighting and installation were valued at Ksh. 2,450,000 had not been executed yet; they were included in the contract, and the roads did not have proper road signage for users’ directions.
Further, a tender for the upgrade of Juanco-Olepolos Road to bitumen standards was awarded at a contract sum of Ksh. 57,378,472. The tender specifications required bidders to have an Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) certificate, but the contracted tenderer did not have an AGPO certificate.
