Kisii MCAs want Speaker out, say he has failed to tame graft
Kisii County Assembly Speaker David Kombo during his swearing in on September 7, 2017. MCAs are seeking his removal saying he has failed to tame corruption in the assembly. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
MCAs said up to Sh16 million has not been accounted for by the Assembly officials under his watch.
The Speaker said he is ready to defend himself if those accusations are channelled through proper means.
Kisii County government is among those struggling with ballooning wage bills at 52 percent.
Governor James Ongwae has since ordered a staff headcount to weed out hundreds of ghost workers.
A section of Kisii County ward reps have renewed their push to have the assembly Speaker David Kombo step down saying he has been unable to tame graft.
Led by Mr Paul Angwenyi (Sensi), the MCAs said up to Sh16 million has not been accounted for by the Assembly officials under his watch between December 2017 and January 2018.
“We are [getting] depressing news each day that public money is being spent in a blatant manner that reeks of nothing but corruption. More worrying about this expenditure is that the assembly does not have any case that warranted this expenditure,” Mr Angwenyi said in a statement.
The Speaker issued a rejoinder, claiming the MCAs were engaging in witch-hunt by peddling allegations against him.
He said he is ready to defend himself if those accusations are channelled through proper means.
But Mr Angwenyi pointed out a curious December holiday expenditure where the assembly spent more than Sh2.3 million in the procuring conference chairs.
“We were away in recess and no meeting took place to warrant such fictitious expenditure. We need explanations [on] these things,” said Mr Angwenyi.
The plan to impeach the Speaker comes less than a fortnight after a raid on several county offices by Ethics and Ant-Corruption Commission officers who took away files and computers in investigations into irregular recruitment of staff.
Kisii County government is among those struggling with ballooning wage bills at 52 percent with the Controller of Budget calling for retrenchment of some staff.
Governor James Ongwae has since ordered a staff headcount to weed out hundreds of ghost workers.
