LBDA board accuses East African ministry of scheming its downfall

A section of the Lake Basin Mall that has already been handed over to the Lake Basin Development Authority by the Contractor who was working on the Mall after Government paid Sh1.5 Billion which is part of the Debt owed to Co-op Bank. He said 30% of the Mall has already been leased out. [Photo: Phillip Orwa, Standard]

The Ministry of East African Community and the board of Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) are embroiled in a row that has derailed work.

On one hand is the LBDA board, which is accusing its parent ministry of having vested interest in the management of the authority, actions it has said are geared towards making LBDA fail in its mandate.

On the other hand is the EAC Ministry's Principal Secretary Susan Koech, who has accused the board and the authority’s top management of corruption and carrying out a flawed process of recruiting its managing director.

Additionally, the PS wrote an internal memo to her Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohammed last July 2, requesting that investigations be launched over the manner in which the MD choice was arrived at.

This is after a Mr Chris Obel raised concerns to Dr Koech over the manner in which the shortlisting was done.

"Obel raised critical issues that needed to be clarified in this matter. That is why we have ordered investigations," the PS said.

But the LBDA, through its chairman Cavince Owidi, has refuted claims that it is being investigated for flawed shortlisting of its managing director.

Mr Owidi said the board carried out the recruitment fairly and lay the blame on the ministry for failing to appoint the MD because of vested interests.

Advert placed

He said they placed an advert calling on interested people to apply for the job last September 5, and 10 days later created two ad-hoc committees to handle the issue.

“We grouped the board members into two groups of six. One was tasked with interviewing the applicants and the other with shortlisting. Shortlisting was done on September 18 and 19, while interviews were carried out on September 25 and 26,” Owidi said.

Owidi said Wilbroda Odera and Abraham Koech, who were in the team to shortlist the candidates, did not participate in the exercise. But William Omondi, Steve Mwanga, Nelson Kifworo and Jack Otana did.

The chairman dismissed the letter written by the PS to investigate them.

“How can a letter written in July, two months before the recruitment process began, be said that it is meant to investigate them?” asked Owidi.

At the same time, Ignatius Wekesa, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission's Western Kenya regional manager, has said they are investigating nine former and current board members over alleged embezzlement of Sh4.1 billion.

“This is related to finding out of the cost of constructing LBDA mall in Kisumu, which was inflated by close to Sh2 billion. Government regulations and rules were flouted,” Wekesa said.

Construction work on the mall complex began in 2012, but it is yet to be opened to the public.

He confirmed that the commission had questioned seven officials.