Monday, 25 November 2024
Wavinya Suspends Minister
Friday, 25 October 2024
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Friday, 20 September 2024
New revenue structure as Kuyu purges officials
By Martin Masai
The fate of top 10 revenue officers hangs in the balance after a second purge in the department by Finance Minister Onesmas Muia Kuyu.
Ms. Zipporah Mutunga
Mr Kuyu (C) at the handing over event in his office on Tuesday
In the first purge in February, Kuyu instituted a mass transfer of revenue officers as he deployed over 400 newly recruited ones in a move that embarrassed the department after the top brass found themselves with transfers letters to markets.
In the current purge, 9 senior revenue officers who served as Subcounty Revenue Officers ((SROs) and their director David Kakonzi are awaiting deployment as most of them complete nearly 2 months at home. Mr Kakonzi was replaced by Mr. William Otieno as Director of Revenue.
Kuyu has also created a new revenue structure where Ward Revenue Officers report, for the first time, to Ward Administrators and through to Sub County Administrators.
Even then, The Anchor has been informed that these sets off officials are supervised by Cordinators who are yet to appear within the county establishment, meaning that county revenue could be managed under a political framework. The coordinators are Governor Wavinya's foot soldiers who wield powers in the County.
The purge was ordered by Mr Kuyu and first executed by Mr Kakonzi. A letter seen by The Anchor that was copied to the 9 officials ordered them to report to then Revenue Chief Officer Jace Senga the next morning.
After they reported, they were guided to take their outstanding leave days to avoid occupying the parking yard of the County Headquarters where they kept idlying. " They took 20, 30 to 60 days, and the leaves are ending on May 28,2024" said a source at the revenue office yesterday. The expiry of the leave days now puts pressure on the department to make a decision on where to place them.
When reached for comment, Mr Kuyu distanced himself from their recall, saying that his responsibility over the department only revolves around policy issues. However, The Anchor established that Kuyu is the architect of the purge. Apart from posting directives on a wall with colleagues, the minister bragged at a meeting in Matuu " I have not only removed the thieves but indeed cut down the big tree", a reference he makes about Mr Senga, who was recently removed to become Chief Officer- Public Engagement.
Observers see the deployment of Senga as a mockery of a chief officer who shared his office with two other officials because he regarded his work as public engagement.
As he distanced himself from the predicament of the SROs, Kuyu referred The Anchor to Mr Senga, who handed over the docket to new Revenue Chief Officer-Ms Zipporah Mutunga on Tuesday,May 21, 2024.
Monday, 16 September 2024
Remove kiosks, county orders Wangondi
By Martin Masai
Majority Leader Nicholas Wangondi is in the middle of a storm as works on a World Bank project come under threat.
Mr Nzioka |
The threat is posed by structures on a road reserve that stand on the way of the project. The County Government of Machakos, in notices sent to Wangondi, alleges that the temporary kiosks belong to him. The notice was issued on June 28,2024, giving the Majority Leader 7 days to execute the order to remove the illegal structures that encroach on the road reserve opposite the KFA, Machakos Branch.
The structure entails about 10 steel cubicles built on one line that have been rented to various business people. On the back of the structures is a property belonging to the Kenya Postal Corporation that has been rented out to local traders. Kenya Postal Corporation has also demanded that the same structures be removed in a strange twist of events.The notice to Wangondi was authorized by Mr. Evans Lumumba and was received by one Racheal Muasya, according to Inspectorate documents. She is believed to be a member of staff in Wangondi's office. The notice is addressed to Mr Nicholas Nzioka.
The county authorities had informed the Majority Leader that if he will not have removed the structures at the expiry of the notice period, they would do it themselves. As we went to press, the structures still stand with the tenants going on with their business even as a deep trench cuts through the front of the stalls.
County officials have kept aloof over the matter. The Chief Officer Enforcement Mr Munyambu, on being asked when he would enforce the notice has never picked calls from The Anchor, underlining his determination to keep off the way where the Majority Leader is named.
Other county sources, refusing to be named since they avoid any confrontation with Mr Wangondi said the county was following due process before pouncing to remove the property.
When The Anchor contacted Wangondi to ask when he will comply with the removal order, he distanced himself from being the owner of the structures. He added that even if the county authorities pulled them down, he would suffer no loss because the structure was not his. He said the county should embark on an investigation to discover to whom they belong.
The project is World Bank funded and has been dodged in controversy since Governor Wavinya Ndeti was elected, with officials eying the Kes 89m they found in the account. Due to the delay, WB has not send Kes 1b it ought to disburse to support municipalities in Machakos County.
Designated PCSB boss quizzed
By Ian Ngali
Ms. Juliana Ndunge Mutisya has recorded her statement over the illegal payments paid to members of the Machakos County Public Service Board.
Juliana, who is about to be appointed to serve the board as secretary, was quizzed for hours at the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission regional offices in Machakos. She was approved for appointment by the County Assembly of Machakos even as the oversight authority knew she had outstanding issues that made her unfit to occupy the office.
Investigators first reached out to Juliana through the County Secretary Dr. Muya Ndambuki but had to do it directly when they were informed that she had resigned from her position to comply with a requirement to qualify for the position of secretary. Other CPSB members were summoned through the office of the County Secretary.
She could not however escape the dragnet because records show that she, along with other members of the board earned illegal allowances by purporting to attend the Devolution Conference held in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County between August 15-19, 2023.
Juliana was irregularly transferred to the board as the Deputy Director Administration by Dr. Ndambuki effective June 27,2023. The same day, CPSB Chairman Mr. Albanas Mutisya, appointed her to act as Board Secretary for six months and ordered her to be paid an Acting Allowance at 20 percent of her substantive salary. She continued to act in that capacity for over 1 year until July 2024, when she quit to prepare to appear before the County Assembly Committee on Appointments for vetting.
Juliana has been placed at the centre of the investigation on the illegal allowances. A letter seen by The Anchor says..." The same was facilitated by the Ag Secretary, Juliana Ndunge Mutisya with full prior knowledge that there was no intention of attending the function except for the Head of Secretariat Mr. Paul Kivinda Muisyo who dutifully attended" The letter, dated July 7,2024 wanted action to recover the money from the officials.
Those alleged to have been paid are Mr. Albanas Mutisya( Kes 122,000), Ms. Mutisya(Kes 108,000), Head of Secretariat Mr. Muisyo (Kes 108,000) and Board Members Frankiln Makola, John Kimeu Kumbu and Ms. Marleen Misco Mwanika( Kes. 108,000) each. Mr. Makola first raised the matter and asked that the money sent to his account be recovered since he did not travel to the conference. It remains unrecovered to this day.
Our sources say the investigations are also targeting the Finance Chief Officer Mr. Bernard Kasanga and the Chief Officer- Office of the Governor Mr. Charles Mutinda- seeking to know the actions they took to recover the illegal allowances.
Those who pocketed the allowances admit they did not travel to the devolution conference but had used the money between August 13-21 2023, upon authorization by Mr. Mutinda. They claimed to have attended a ceremony to renew contracts for roughly 230 county staff who joined service during the Covid 19 pandemic. The staff are spread across the entire county and there is no way they would have congregated at a far corner of the county for renewal of contracts. EACC is also pursuing a cover-up plan that was hatched to deflect the investigations.
Mr. Mutinda allegedly wrote the letter they are clinging on on September 18,2023, long after the money was taken. It is believed that the alleged letter was aimed at stalling a recovery of the cash from the salaries of those involved.
The cover-up story is not helped by the fact that Mr. Mutinda reported to Office of The Governor on September 20,2023. Investigators want to find out how he wrote the letter days before he was appointed to his current office. When The Anchor contacted Mr. Mutinda, he could not recall the exact dates of the alleged letter and hos reporting but indicated he would be willing to clarify any action he may have taken over the matter.
The event is alleged to have taken place at Masinga Sky Lodge and there is no evidence that such an event took place. If it had happened, the county would also have paid allowances for secretariat staff, including drivers' allowances and fuel. Costs of the venue hire would also have been captured.
Tuesday, 10 September 2024
CPSB Commissioners face EACC
Sunday, 8 September 2024
Wavinya Speaks
Sunday, 1 September 2024
Wavinya looped into officials' public spat
Riddle of squabbling officials
Mr Metho |
Ms. Ndunda |
Mr Kirima |
Bursaries: An open letter to Wavinya
Saturday, 31 August 2024
Why a dark cloud hangs over fate of CO Mutunga
Why CO cannot be in office
yet he quit or was interdicted
By The Anchor Writer
THE FATE of Governor Wavinya's Chief officer for Cooperative Development Anthony Mutunga Mutuku remains unclear even after The Anchor established that the official had been interdicted.
Mr. Anthony Mutunga |
His interdiction has been looming for over a month since he was asked to account for close to Kes 10m Our sources at the Cooperatives ministry say the cash- initially some Kes 11m had been set aside for a Coffee Research project.
When the 14 day notice he had been given by the County Secretary Dr Muia Ndambuki elapsed, the CS interdicted him and required the lawyer CO to account for the money.
Sources close to Mr. Mutunga say at this time, he contemplated quitting his job or even taking legal action to save his name.
The grapevine has it the cash in question has been reducing since part of it - Kes 5m-was handed over in cash to a top county official who we cannot name until the official responds to a query over the alleged hand-over. It is also said that a close relative of the top honcho was handed another Kes 2m- a practice that county officials say is a routine practice in the Wavinya Ndeti administration. We have not been told who and where the cash was handed over.
These below -the- desk transactions must have slashed the money by Kes 7 m and observers wonder how corruption money can be accounted for without incriminating bosses up and downwards.
It is alleged that close to Kes10m is unaccounted for and if this is the actual situation, one can see why the money will never be accounted for since those who collected the money appear to be 'County Untouchables'
Read Also : http://theanchormedia.blogspot.com/2024/04/wavinya-suspends-chief-officer.html
It is also rumored that Mutunga is interested in vying for Matungulu parliamentary seat come 2027, increasing pressure upon him that greets officials with political ambition who are seen as future challengers to the powers that be in the county.
But as word went round that Mutunga was out of the county government either through resignation or interdiction, adding to what is seen as mass exodus from the Wavinya administration, a spin was added to his departure. The spin was that he was quitting due to "... Pressure to transfer Ksh. 67 million to Wavinya to cover her expenses during a foreign trip. The funds were reportedly demanded for "upkeep"" This claim remains unsubstantiated.
As this posting on the social media went viral, The Anchor can authoritatively reveal that the viral post caught the attention of Governor Wavinya and she re-shared it among her top officials, triggering an effort to push back the allegations by Wavinya's handlers.
Later in the day, a rare Press Statement, in fact, the first in the Department of Cooperatives was issued saying " My attention has been drawn to baseless and malicious propaganda post circulating on various social media platforms alleging that I'm no longer in service with the County Government of Machakos." The statement added " For the avoidance of doubt, the said post is baseless, malicious and ill intended to malign the great reputation of H.E the County Government of Machakos(Sic) and myself. The same should be treated with the contempt it deserves. I remain steadfast in discharging my duties and responsibilities for the benefit of the people of Machakos County"
Observers believe that the statement attributed to Mr. Mutunga was either drafted by officials in Wavinya's government to save face and if it was indeed signed by the CO, it may have been an act of treading horses between him and the county government. Communications Chief Officer Joyce Gituro told The Anchor that Mutunga had neither resigned nor been interdicted.
It cannot be out of nothing that Mutunga was asked to account for money, an act that was followed by a letter of interdiction, followed by the claim Kes 67m to support Wavinya's trip abroad.
Be that as it may, the truth is that Mr Mutunga cannot have resigned, been interdicted or remain in office all at the same time; That there is a murky story being hidden is not in doubt. Only time will tell.
Your unstoppable next Secretary to CPSB
The Machakos Assembly has no history
of rejecting any unqualified nominee
Juliana Mutisya |
Wednesday, 21 August 2024
Anxiety in Kathiani as Wavinya names Kasivu acting health boss
By The Anchor Writer
Governor Wavinya Ndeti has appointed Medical Services Chief Officer Justus Kasivu to act as Health Minister. Mr Kasivu will temporarily replace Dr. Daniel Yumbya who quit office three weeks ago.
Mr Kasivu
appointment comes as Kathiani Sub County watches with abated breath to see who will take positions previously held by area residents or who will be next to exit.
Wavinya has purged her Chief of Staff Lawrence Ngovi, and former Lands Minister Philip Kilonzo within 23 months. Though Kilonzo hails from Mavoko, there is a tendency to view the sub county as part of Kathiani the Constituency from which it was hived off.
She has put on perennial suspension Chief Officer Maureen Mwende and pressured Yumbya to resignation three weeks ago. The first minister to quit her government was Sky Muasya. They all come from Kathiani and their replacements come from elsewhere.
That most of those who have left come from the same area, it has left tongues wagging over the governor's possible beef with Kathiani.
Kasivu will combine this role with that of CO, a manifestation of the confidence the governor has in him to run the two offices simultaneously as she mulls over the person to succeed Dr Yumbya.
Kasivu flexed his new muscle last weekend when he signed a letter to all senior staff who include Directors, Medical Superintendents and Sub County Medical Officers of Health(MOHs) where he warned all staff to cease operating pharmacies while still in service of the government.
'"All county employees within the Department of Health are therefore directed to cease operation of Pharmacy outlets while engaged in active employment with the County Government of Machakos," Mr. Kasivu said.
The Acting Minister raised concern that several departmental workers had opened pharmacies, whose operations were presenting a conflict of interest. It is believed that such staff are the cause of wanton theft of medicines procured by public hospitals that find their way in the outlets.
Tuesday, 13 August 2024
Petitioners act against land grabbing in Mavoko
By The Anchor Writer
Friday, 2 August 2024
Turmoil in Ndeti's Government sees the fall of fourth minister
Yumbya's humiliating exit
Thursday, 1 August 2024
Yumbya quits Wavinya regime
theanchormedia blogspot
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