Jubilee MP wants CS Anne Waiguru sacked over graft

Embattled Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru is under pressure to step aside and allow investigations into the alleged siphoning of millions of shillings in her Ministry.

A section of the Jubilee Members of Parliament led by their Chuka-Igambang’ombe counterpart Muthomi Njuki want Waiguru to step aside or President Uhuru Kenyatta to sack her.

Mr Njuki said they will now join their opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) to pile pressure on the President to sack Ms Waiguru.

He said it was unfortunate that millions of shillings continue being misappropriated yet no action is being taken on those alleged to have orchestrated the theft of public funds.

He said that the issues raised by the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) about the inflation of prices of items in her Ministry and the loss of Ksh 791 million in the National Youth Service (NYS) programme that is under her are a clear indication that she has played a part in the scam.

The MP further argues that the CS and her Principal Secretary for planning Peter Mangiti have been unable to explain the discrepancies in prices of items.

He also accused the Cabinet of shielding the Presidency and hence the continued abuse of office and misappropriation of resources by state officers.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Devolution said the document that was presented to Parliamentary Accounts Committee on Tuesday contained inconsistencies and was the wrong one.

While appearing before the same committee, Mr Mangiti, who was appearing for the second day and accompanied Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru, said there was a mix-up in the figures and the document presented to the committee had factual errors.

Mangiti told the committee that the original and factual figures that were refined will be readily available for its inspection in two weeks.

Waiguru’s Ministry was on the spotlight after the Financial Register for the year 2013 – 2014 showed that it had inflated the cost of basic commodities supplied to it during the same fiscal year.

The Ministry had also procured 18 male and female condom dispensers at a cost of Ksh 450,000, which translates to Ksh 25,000 each.

The document shows that the Ministry bought 20 ball point pens at Ksh 174,000. However, it is not clear on whether the quantity indicated is per packaging box or per pen. If the cost is per pen, it means each piece was bought at Ksh 8,700; if per packaging box, it means each piece (pen) was bought at Ksh 435.

The types of pens specified would cost on average between Ksh 15 – Ksh 20.

The Ministry also paid Ksh 28,804,324 for partitioning of its offices at the Barclays Plaza in the city centre. The payments were made in four different installments. In the first two payments made in January 2014, the Ministry paid Ksh 4,918,387 as per LPO number STD/210114 and Ksh 7,341,992 as per LPO number STD/050214.

The third payment was made in March 2014 and amounted to Ksh 10,425,923 as per LPO number STD/020414, while the final payment of Ksh 6,118,028 was made in June the same year as per LPO number STD/301614.