Public Accounts Committee wars may derail IEBC scam inquiry

Infighting among members of a parliamentary watchdog may derail its inquiry into the bungled procurement of election materials by the electoral body.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is mired in leadership wrangled as a section of members seek to remove Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba as chairman over claims of bribery.

According to the parliamentary website, PAC is not slated to hold any session this week.

Instead, the watchdog committee is scheduled to retreat to Mombasa at the weekend to iron out the wrangles.

The Mombasa retreat will determine the fate of Namwamba who has since denied all claims of bribery.

Sunday, PAC vice chair Cecily Mbarire confirmed the weekend meeting saying top of the agenda will be to iron out differences among members.

"We are going for a retreat to discuss those issues that have been raised," Ms Mbarire said, adding that some external forces want to push a certain agenda in the committee.

With the committee retreating to discuss the squabbles, part of its programmes are likely to scuttled or delayed.

PAC was scheduled to meet tomorrow to agree on the order of appearance of all commissioners of IEBC and senior staff who played a key role in the procurement of electronic voting kits.

The IEBC chiefs were meant to explain queries raised in a special audit report on procurement of electronic voting devices by the Auditor General dated June 6, 2014.

The polls agency was to explain irregularities that marred the procurement exercises, and in some cases variations of contracts, that cost tax payers millions of shillings in losses.

Among the questions IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan and sacked CEO James Oswago were to face from MPs is circumstances under which the contract value of the electronic voter identification device was varied by more than 10 per cent.