Kisumu Mayor in a scandal: Corruption has already started as council uses taxpayers money to modernise Raila’s house
Posted by africanpress on May 6, 2008
Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no
Story by Dickens Wasonga, Kisumu.
Kisumu mayor Sam Onyango Okello is embroiled in a massive financial scam over the alleged repair of the prime minister’s posh Milimani home.
Investigations by this journalist reveals that the mayor unprocedurally obtained a staggering ksh.700,000 from the council’s coffers last week to be used in the refurbishment of the said house.The controversy -ridden contract was awarded to his relative from Gem
As per the stipulated procurement procedures,any contract exceeding ksh.500,000 must be advertised for bidders to competetively apply before it is awarded.
Sources at the financially crippled council confided to this scribe that the mayor’s hasty move angered even his chief officers who termed it as an open theft and in-surbordination.
” How do we account for this expenditure incase of any financial audit”,wondered one of the chief officers.
The mayor who was in the news recently for ordering the eviction of some tenants from the council houses is currently being blamed as being too expensive for the cash-strapped civic body.
Its worth noting and interesting that the city father,in a bid to generate revenue for the council ,has found a few personalities untouchable even though they also owe the authority large sums of money in rent arrears.
Investigations further reveals that senior and influencial individuals in business and political circles forms the list of who occupies the council’s houses without paying rent yet they enjoy immunity of eviction.
Among them includes Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo,CEO Spectra International Israel Agina and professor Larry Gumbe, banking expert a Mr. Mukuria who is also the chairman of the exclusive Nyanza club where the mayor is currently residing at the expense of the council.
It is shocking also that former council employees who landed plum jobs in the neighbouring countries a couple of years ago still occupy council’s up-market houses undeterred thus denying the civic body its much needed revenue.
More of a mockery is fresh revelations that the ageless,long serving enforcement officer Erick Hongo who also doubles as tha mayor’s pointman has got a chain of the council houses located in different estates within the town to his name yet most senior staff are houseless
He is living in a council house at the posh Milimani which he is entitled to as a senior enforcement officer,while collects rent from the rest of the houses he owns illegally at Arina, Anderson and Kibuye estates.
Contacted for comment the clerk to the council Mr. Rashid Mwakiwiwi said the issue was an ‘internal matter’ and would be addressed soon.
The mayor who has been a perennial losser in Muhoroni constituency was imposed by the ODM top hierachy is also accused of purging the entire staff initially attached to the mayor’s office.
The high tempered and ‘a know it all’ civic boss recently fired a long serving mayorial secretary Grace Kun’ga over allegations that she was being used by the immediate former mayor cllr.Prisca Auma to spy on him.
He is said to have vowed never to drink tea prepared by Grace , a move which left her frustrated and did not aurger well even among other council workers.
Instead, he has employed a tea girl anda private driver who are bagging whooping weekly allowances at a time when hiring of new staff has been frozen.
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African Press International - api
May 10, 2008 at 3:25 pm
ODM supporters have been singing PNU this and PNU that. What will they do now if Raila can allow the council spend money to repair his personal house? Isn’t this corruption too? How and why did the financial officer a the Kisumu council allow the mayor to at the money?