CSs have proxy companies trading with government, team finds out

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji present their budget proposal before the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee at Parliament on Monday 25/02/19. He has unearthed how firms linked to CSs trade with Government.[Boniface Okendo,Standard]

Four Cabinet secretaries are reportedly under the radar of a multi-agency team investigating corruption after claims they established pseudo companies to benefit from multi-billion-shilling projects in their ministries.

A recent trip by the team to Italy, led by Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, reportedly unearthed details on how firms winning Government contracts are directly linked to the CSs.

“It is disturbing that the CSs are linked to the companies under probe in multi-billion-shilling projects that have stalled. This is denying Kenyans opportunities to get Government tenders, especially when the companies in question are international with local roots,” disclosed a member of the team.

Advanced stage

Another one said:” The investigations are at a very advanced stage. What we were surprised about is the level of rot. We award tenders to international companies only to discover they belong to locals.”

For instance, one CS was found to have registered a company and put foreigners as its directors.

It has emerged the company is among those seeking compensation for payments in one of the projects that are under investigations.

Investigators are focusing on the firm amidst claims the CS may face charges.

The multi-agency team consists of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption (EACC), the office of Attorney General (AG), DPP,  Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Assets Recovery Agency.

The trip to Italy was triggered by the probe into transaction of CMC di Rivenna, an Italian company contracted to construct Arror dam in Marakwet West Constituency at Sh38.5 billion.

Officials said it is also undertaking a similar project in Kimwarer, Keiyo South constituency, at Sh28 billion. The two projects are being financed through a loan from the Italian government.

The company is also constructing Itare Dam in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County, at Sh27 billion, bringing the total worth of the dam projects it is undertaking to Sh91 billion.

The Arror and Kimwarer dams are being undertaken by the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA), a body established in 1979 to undertake planning, coordination and implementation of integrated river-based development programmes within the Kerio Valley basin.

Meanwhile, it has emerged controversy surrounding the multi-billion dams’ projects could be bigger.

Major projects

The Standard has established the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU), which documents all major projects, has not captured details of the Sh63 billion Arror and Kimwarer multi-purpose dam projects in its latest report.

Sources said they were deleted as Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoiti moved in to probe the matter.

PDU report dated February 29 documents ongoing projects such as irrigation (dams), water services, ICT, Integrated Financial Management Information Systems, health and roads but excludes the two dams.

The two projects are conspicuously missing in the GPRS systems tracker and an extract of projects from the county excludes the two.

Efforts to get a comment from the head of PDU Nzioka Waita were fruitless.

PDU secretary Andrew Wakahiu confirmed the document is authentic and that the projects have not been captured as they are not ongoing.

“As PDU, we only track ongoing projects. These two have not started. The delivery unit deals with ongoing and completed projects,” Wakahiu said.