How Sh300 million for war on Covid was squandered in Kisii

Suspected corrupt cartels in the Kisii County government allegedly pocketed a whopping Sh300 million from the national government that was meant to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

It has emerged that contractors who renovated isolation facilities at Kisii High School and Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital and supplied face masks have launched claims totalling Sh150 million but in the county’s books of accounts, some individuals were allegedly paid for these services.

In the ongoing familiarisation tour of the devolved unit’s assets management, Governor Simba Arati has discovered that officials cannot account how the national government grant of Sh300 million meant for the Covid-19 pandemic was utilised.

Addressing accountants and auditors at his Gusii Stadium operation base, Governor Arati also disclosed that a few weeks ago, suspected cartels in the county finance department laundered a total of Sh74 million.

Wire it back

They deposited the money in a contractor’s account and asked him to wire it back to allegedly corrupt county officials who have been fleecing the devolved unit of millions through fictitious expenditures.

“The people who will save this county are the auditors and accountants. And when the time comes, everyone will carry their own cross. At the moment, Kisii County is the only devolved unit in the whole republic of Kenya that has surpassed the wage bill ceiling at 58 percent,” Mr Arati said.

Though the Senate and the controller of budget advise that the wage bill should not surpass 35 percent, in Kisii it has shot up to almost 60 percent.

“Some counties are at 37-38 percent but we are at 58 percent against the national ceiling of 35 percent,” said Mr Arati, who also pointed out that because of this, it will not be possible to guarantee employment and promotions that happened a few months ago.

Criminal syndicates

The governor disclosed that besides the alleged misappropriation of the Sh300 million, he had received information that senior employees continued stealing county money using what he termed well-established criminal syndicates in which they deposit millions of shillings into a contractor’s account and have the money wired back to benefit crooked employees.

“That contractor in Nyangusu told me that she received a total of Sh74 million deposited in her account for supplying air. The contractor was asked to cash the money and take it to the officials of the county who used her company to steal from the county. Air money!” exclaimed Mr Arati.

The alleged stealing of Covid-19 money shocked MCAs and employees, who demanded that criminal investigations be opened immediately and all those responsible be prosecuted.

Sometime in 2020, the Nation raised questions about the expenditure of the Covid-19 grant but top county officials under former governor James Ongwae refused to disclose the details.

Fictitious supplies

At the time, allegations that top county officials were paying themselves hundreds of millions for fictitious supplies and contracts had emerged and the Nation sought clarification from the county leadership but faced a brick wall.

Kisii had a total budget of Sh356 million for the Covid-19 pandemic. Of this, Sh156 million was a grant from the national government and the remainder was set aside from county revenues.

A contractor from Nakuru who had close links with a top elected county official was awarded part of the tender, while another close associate of the same official in Kisii was awarded a section of the tender.

The local contractor with close links with the former regime has submitted a claim of Sh150 million, alleging that although he undertook Covid-19-related contracts with the county, someone else who allegedly supplied air was paid the money.

It is not clear how a person who had a close working relationship with the top county leadership could have been short-changed.

Mr Arati has directed an audit to establish who was paid the money, what he or she did to receive the payments and how the company associated with this apparent scam won the tender.

At the time the Nation started investigating claims of suspected looting of Covid-19 money, reports indicated that out of the Sh156 million from the national government to fight the disease, the county purportedly spent Sh60 million to purchase various items from Kemsa, including ICU ventilators, personal protective equipment, medical equipment, ICU beds, bedside lockers and mattresses.

Isolation ward

The Nation received unverified information at the time that the county also spent Sh40 million to allegedly renovate and equip a Covid-19 isolation ward and to set up 10 ICU beds for Covid-19 patients.

Another Sh20 million was allegedly spent to renovate “outlying facilities”, whose details were not provided.

When the Nation contacted the county leadership with these details, no one was ready to confirm or deny them. For instance, Sh36 million was said to have been set aside for “any eventualities”.

Neither Mr Ongwae nor his chief officers and County Executive Committee members responded to the Nation's questions. No details were provided about the companies involved in the purported works into which Covid-19 money was sunk.

We established at the time that top elected leaders in the county used proxies to register companies, which they used to siphon out hundreds of millions of public money for their enrichment.

Yesterday, an accountant told Governor Arati that one contractor had been allocated contracts in every department in the county, thanks to his alleged close association with the former regime.

Mr Arati told the accountants that the county treasury had been drained dry and Kisii was in the red. He said all employment and promotions made this year without proper budgeting will be rescinded.

“We cannot engage very resourceful people but end up not paying them,” said Mr Arati, who added that before employing and promoting workers, there must be budgetary commitments, which should correspond with availability of resources and needs.

The Nation has learnt that officials in key positions allegedly used their proximity to top county leadership to wire millions of shillings from the county treasury to junior employees’ bank accounts.

Thereafter, they asked the employees to withdraw the cash and give it to the thieving cartels after deducting 10 percent of the total, in a well-choreographed scheme of outright looting of public funds with apparent impunity.

The governor said if people are employed but not paid, they will have the right to go on strike and demand payment of their wages.

He said he will try to secure credit from local banks to pay employees who have gone without salaries for months.

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