Four companies linked to individuals with political connections
received the bulk of the Sh791 million that Devolution Cabinet Secretary
Anne Waiguru said was lost through the National Youth Service.
Most of the money was paid for works done in the upgrading of Nairobi’s Kibera slums, Saturday Nation investigations reveal.
Among
the individuals are a nominated senator, the daughter of a senior
politician in the ruling coalition, a brother of a consultant engaged to
reform the youth service, a senior officer in the Devolution ministry
and an ODM politician.
When she revealed the loss of
the money, Ms Waiguru named 21 public officials she said were
responsible for the fraud. She said she would forward their names to
Public Service Commission for action.
But two weeks later, Saturday Nation has established that no action has been taken against the individuals.
The
Public Service Commission chairperson, Prof Margaret Kobia, appeared to
throw the ball back into Ms Waiguru’s court, saying the CS had powers
to constitute a ministerial human resource advisory committee to
determine the fate of the individuals involved after hearing their side.
The committee decision would be sent to the commission for action.
“The
committee must make a decision within the stipulated time frame and
inform the commission,” she said in a telephone interview.
However,
Prof Kobia could not say what the stipulated time is. Our efforts to
get Ms Waiguru to comment on whether the committee had been set up or
not were fruitless. But sources at NYS and the ministry said the
individuals had not been suspended.
The Saturday Nation
was told that the Sh791 million was paid between December last year and
April for the rehabilitation of the Kibera slums, which Ms Waiguru
personally supervised.
The works included construction
of roads, clinics, toilets, water points and unblocking of drainage,
which was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The decision to pay, the Saturday Nation was further told, originated from the officers on the ground.
The decision to pay, the Saturday Nation was further told, originated from the officers on the ground.
They
included a road and site engineer, seconded to the project by the
Ministry of Roads, as well as officials from Ms Waiguru’s office, who
supervised the Kibera projects. None of these individuals are in the
list of those recommended for prosecution.
Questions
are also being asked about the fate of investigations in what Ms Waiguru
said in June was an attempt to steal Sh800 million using the stolen
Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis) passwords of
the youth service deputy director, Mr Adan Harakhe.
Mr
Harakhe was among the 21 officials recommended for prosecution. He was
headhunted by Ms Waiguru and given the power to incur expenses in place
of the director-general, Dr Nelson Githinji.
The
narrative in June was that whoever tampered with the Ifmis and made the
fraudulent payments stole the password from Mr Harakhe.
Some
sources in the ministry said the password was never stolen as claimed
but Mr Harakhe committed the funds with the approval of the ministry.
“Mr
Harakhe was posted from the provincial administration and given those
powers even before he was trained on Ifmis and his appointment
formalised by the Cabinet Secretary.
He committed the
funds only for them to turn around and claim the password was stolen.
It’s a total lie”, one of the officials in the list of 21 told Saturday
Nation.
The aim now, sources say, is to use the 21
suspects as fall guys who will be taken to court while the real culprits
go scot-free.
The youth service came into the
limelight after its annual budget was increased from Sh13 billion to
Sh25 billion to implement State infrastructural projects.
Ms Waiguru has taken a keen interest in NYS with critics saying she is micro-managing it.
Ms Waiguru has taken a keen interest in NYS with critics saying she is micro-managing it.
An
official at her ministry who did not want to be named, defended her
saying: “With such an allocation, a lot is expected from her in terms of
delivery so there is nothing wrong in what she is doing.”
But critics say morale at the NYS is low following the replacement of several “analogue” officers.
The
latest casualty is the former head of the Gilgil unit, Mr David Dicks
Alunga, who was transferred after he allegedly refused to receive
supplies from “favoured” suppliers.
He has been recommended for prosecution as he sat in one of the committees involved in the Sh780 million Kibera projects.
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