CDF committee on the spot for procuring dustbins at Sh75,000 each

CDF committee on the spot for procuring dustbins at Sh75,000 each

Residents of Awendo have expressed discontent over reports of heedless expenditure of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

The CDF committee has been on the spot over allegations that it spent Sh75,000 to purchase a single garbage bin in the financial year 2014/2015.

There have also been protests over the constituency’s move to set aside Sh2.8 million to create the Constituency Strategic Plan in the financial year 2014/15 and Sh1.7 million for tree planting.

According to the residents, the bins, which were placed in various market centres in the constituency, are already derelict a month after installation, while the tree planting exercise did not kick off.

The Constituency Management Report for the financial year 2014/2015 established that Sh2.8 million and Sh1.7 million was allocated towards the preparation of the strategic plan and tree planting exercise respectively.

In her defence, Awendo CDF chairlady Anne Koyo said the dustbins were bought at Sh10,000 and not Sh75, 000 as alleged.

She also defended the Sh2.8 million spent on the constituency strategic plan saying that the plan is quite involving and financially intensive.

She added that the amount allocated for tree planting was spent on bursaries for students, saying that its intended budget has been pushed to financial year 2015/2016.

The new development adds to the growing the growing indignation among residents of different counties over the haphazard budgetary expenditure.

Last week, members of the Nakuru County Assembly were under fire for allegedly spending Sh25 million on a bonding retreat in Mombasa.

The trip is said to have caused ripples within the county assembly with some members, including nominated MCA Margaret Kiiru, raising a red flag over the expenditure.

Several other counties including Bungoma, Migori, Elgeyo Marakwet and Meru have also been linked to fraudulent transactions and foreign trips that have cost taxpayers millions of shillings.

Last month, Meru County was on the spot over alleged procurement of hospital curtains worth Sh7.8 million.

The allegations raised a storm on social media with Kenyans using the hashtag #MeruGeneralHospitalCurtains, venting their anger on the County Government of Meru for the apparent mismanagement of county funds.

The allegations came barely a fortnight after the County Government of Bungoma was accused of procuring ten wheelbarrows at a cost of Sh109,000 each in what casts doubts on the transparency of county governments.

Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka confirmed the purchase of the wheelbarrows but defended the price saying the wheelbarrows were not ordinary.

Sixteen MCAs from Migori County are accused of spending Ksh5.8M on a trip to Dubai to learn about waste disposal among other issues, while their Elgeyo Marakwet counterparts are accused of travelling to Congo for a brainstorming session on infrastructural development in the sports sector.

By Simon Ngure

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