Parliament team unearths graft at irrigation projects

 By Paul Gitau

Anxiety has gripped Hola and Bura irrigation schemes after the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture visited them over corruption allegations.

The committee led by chairman John Mututho on Wednesday visited the two schemes and blew the whistle on corruption and sabotage of the Government programme under the Economic Stimulous Programme which was meant to boost the country’s strategic green reserve.

The committee observed that despite Government pumping billions of shillings into the project the production was very low and some of the maize had been condemned yet it was fit for human consumption.

Mr Mututho said the Government revived the two schemes which had collapsed more than 20 years ago and were expected to produce one million bags of maize per year to boost the country’s food security.

"This is a clear sabotage that despite Government efforts a few officers were planning how they would embezzle the funds", he said.

The committee said more than 6,000 bags of maize were declared unfit by the Ministry of Public Health.

However, when the parliamentary committee visited the National Cereals and Produce Board stores in Bura where the condemned maize had been kept, they found it was fit for human consumption.

Mysteriously transferred

Interestingly public health officials in their report indicated that the maize had aflatoxin while another report of tests undertaken by NCPB indicated the maize was not contaminated. The committee which included MPs Benjamin Washiali (Mumias), Benson Mbai (Masinga) and Mahamud Sirat (Wajir South) and two researchers inspected the maize and declared it was not contaminated.

The committee also came across more than 4,000 bags of fertilizer locked in a store manned by the National Youth Service (NYS) in Hola since 2009 while 140 bags were mysteriously transferred to Mavoloni NYS camp from another consignment of 467 bags in Bura.

However the committee did not access the stores to establish the existence of the fertilizer as the officers in charge had reportedly locked the premise and left with the keys.

The chairman said the Ministry of Public Health had also requested Parliament to approve disbursement of Sh6.8 billion to destroy contaminated maize countrywide part of the consignment included the Hola and Bura produce.

Mututho said the committee would from Friday summon senior officials from NYS, National Irrigation Board and Ministry of Public Health to shed light on the project.