House team wants Nacada board disbanded

The board of the State agency tasked with fighting drug and alcohol abuse in the country should be dissolved, a House committee has said.

The proposal comes against a backdrop of a Sh147 million scandal in irregular tendering and disbursement of money to the civil society.

In a report tabled yesterday, the National Assembly's Committee on Administration and National Security said the board of the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) had to be dissolved and new members appointed.

The goal for the dissolution and getting new members would be part of a major overhaul of systems at Nacada to make sure the fight against alcohol and drug abuse succeeds, the MPs said in their report.

The committee said the focus of the new board, once appointed, would be to 'restructure' Nacada and make sure the board and secretariat avoided constant wrangling and pursued their mandate.

The lawmakers were told about how Nacada Chairman John Mututho attempted to suspend Chief Executive William Okedi and six others on June 18, this year, without the board's resolution. The suspension was based on a letter from the board's audit sub-committee.

"This decision was later rescinded by other board members on grounds that it was done without following due procedure," the report added.

Mr Mututho told MPs the CEO was "not keen on the anti-alcohol and drug use campaign".

Chairman Asman Kamama (Tiaty) said his committee would push the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to pursue those who had pilfered public funds in the irregular procurement.

"The committee recommends that EACC should conclude investigations into the irregular procurement of consultancy services for the disbursement of Sh99 million to civil society organisations by Nacada in the 2013-14 financial year and ensure culpable officers are prosecuted," reads part of the House team's report.