A visit by the National Assembly’s Special Funds Committee to Ganze constituency in Kilifi County has exposed what could be projects shoddily done despite gobbling millions of from funds from the tax payers. – By Ramadhan Kambi.
Now the committee which was headed by of Endebess MP, Dr Robert Pukose wants the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate the suspicious projects which its funds is believed to have been misappropriated in the 2014/2015 financial year.
The projects in question are the construction of the Petanguo Dam at a cost of Sh5 million, five classrooms at Bamba police station constructed at a cost of Sh1.5 million and the excavation of Majajani dam at a cost of Sh5.1 million.
The first project was the construction of the Petanguo dam which was given a double allocation from the NG-CDF and the equalization fund.
The NG-CDF allocated Sh4 million for the dam while equalization fund allocated Sh10 million for the same project.
“In the books, this project is reported to be in use but the situation on the ground is different. We want the government agencies to investigate why this project received a double allocation and there is no value for money,” said Pukose.
Dr Pukose said they believe that the funds for the projects was misappropriated and that it is time the government investigating agencies start looking into the matter.
“From what we have seen the purported dams in Majajani and Petanguo does not reflect the funds allocated to it and it is clear that money was misappropriated. Since the project status does not resemble the money allocated to it, we now want both the DCI and EACC to investigate this matter with urgency and bring these people to book,” said Dr Pukose.
Mr Mwambire said the NG-CDF should be making investigations on flouted projects even if the current MP is still in office and should not launch investigations if they left offices.
“I think with the scale of these suspicious projects in Ganze, then this calls for the NG-CDF board to be conducting investigations while the legislators are still in office and not to wait until they are out of the office and then investigation start. That will derail justice. Investigation into suspicious or shoddy projects should be an ongoing process at the NG-CDF board,” Mr Mwambire said.
Mr Mwambire said the NG-CDF did the project in Kilifi North constituency and not in Ganze constituency.
“Majajani is not in Ganze but it is in Kilifi north. The committee was taken to another dam which is at the boundary of Ganze and Kilifi north but the actual majajani dam is in Majajani and it has a fence,” he said Mwambire
An administrator in the area confirmed the Majajani dam in Kilifi north was dug using funds from the Ganze NG-CDF kitty.
“The project was taken o Kilifi north after the committee failed to get an appropriate location in Ganze,” said the administrator in confidence.
Former Ganze MP Peter Shehe accused Mwambire of witchhunt. He threw the blame on the funds manager and the project management committees.
“The MP is trying to intimidate me but I was not part to any corrupt deals. How can classrooms be built in a police station? The Petanguo dam was done in 2018 when I had already left office. The Majajani dam was done by Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority TARDA,” Said Shehe
