Siaya Governor warns public on land deals

 

Siaya County Cornel Rasanga. Mr Rasanga has warned officers of defunct local authorities against engaging in unscrupulous land deals. Photo/FILE NATION MEDIA GROUP

By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted Thursday, April 18 2013 at 15:54

Residents of Siaya County have been warned against engaging in land transactions with former local authorities without consulting the office of the governor.

It is fraudulent for anybody to buy or sell government land through the former local authorities, said Governor Cornel Rasanga.

He said land transactions should have stopped when the county government came into force.

The governor warned officers of defunct local authorities against engaging in such deals.

He said he had established that such transactions were still being carried out and appealed to relevant government agencies to take stern action.

“Those transactions are null and void. We are warning those involved that the long arm of the law will catch up with both the sellers and buyers,” Mr Rasanga said.

He told the public that the plots were now under the county government and nobody should purport to sell them on behalf of the local authorities.

According to the Transition to Devolved Government Act, 2012, anybody who transfers assets without obtaining the approval of the county government or contrary to the mechanism provided by the Transition Authority commits an offence.

Kidero interdicts officers over Sh180m graft claims

Nairobi county governor Evans Kidero inspects a parade by City Council workers. Photo/FILE Nation Media Group

By EMMANUEL TOILI etoili@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Wednesday, April 17 2013 at 13:15

 

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has interdicted four senior City Council officers over the loss of Sh180 million and ordered investigation of 25 firms involved in graft claims.

The officers have been accused of misappropriating Sh180m in the infamous 'air supplies' at the City Hall.

10 more officers from the departments of Procurement, City Engineering, Treasury and Inspection and Acceptance Committee are also being investigated.

Also, 25 firms allegedly involved in the 'air supply' together with their directors are being investigated over the misappropriation.

“Am in the process of initiating necessary legislation on governance with special focus on tackling corruption within the county. Within three months, I will have sealed all revenue leakages and all financial malpractices," he said.

“I also intend to set up the County Ombudsman’s Office with a clear mandate to handle all aspects of integrity and corruption within the rank and file in the County,” Kidero added.

Kamau•2 days ago

Keep it up Bwana Governor ! But please watch your back for corruption fights back. Behind you 100%.

House team to vet Cabinet nominees to be unveiled

MPs wait for the address by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Parliament on April 16, 2013. Photo/JOHN NGIRACHU

By JOHN NGIRACHU jngirachu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, April 18 2013 at 16:57

The House Committee that will vet the nominees to the Cabinet will be unveiled on Tuesday, Majority Leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale has told MPs.

Mr Duale said MPs would also be asked to approve the membership of the Committee on Appointment.

The 28-member committee will be chaired by Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi and will have the Deputy Speaker with the leaders and deputy leaders of the majority and minority parties.

Its sole mandate will be the vetting of the people President Uhuru Kenyatta will nominate as members of the Cabinet.

Its quorum shall include 14 members, excluding the Speaker, who shall also not be entitled to vote.

Members to this committee shall be nominated by the House Business Committee on the basis of proportional party membership in the House while also considering the interests of

independent members.

There are four independent MPs in the National Assembly, with three reported to be allied to the Jubilee Coalition, which forms the majority in both the Senate and the National Assembly.

Mr Duale said the members of the various other committees would be named on Wednesday.

MPs have been quietly lobbying for membership in the 26 committees that are yet to be formed and Mr Duale’s announcement is likely to lead to an intensification of this.

The Garissa Township MP encouraged his colleagues to start proposing motions they would want the House to discuss and to start preparing to seek statements from committee heads.

Under the new House rules, MPs will have Wednesday morning to discuss the issues they originate. The day is reserved for business not sponsored by either the Majority or Minority Leaders and the committees.

EU envoy wants open tender for Karuma dam

Journalists take pictures of Karuma Falls recently. Construction of a 600-Megawatt dam at the site has stalled over allegations of corruption in the bidding process.

By TABU BUTAGIRA

Posted Thursday, April 18 2013 at 01:00

In Summary

Top EU envoy says unlike a grant, Ugandan tax payers will have to repay the loan for the project and its intended works must offer the best value-for-money.

Kampala

The government should re-open up the tender for construction of the 600-megawatt Karuma hydro-dam to all interested “competent” firms irrespective of which country finances the project, the Head of the European Union Delegation in Uganda has said.

Ambassador Roberto Ridolfi told the Daily Monitor on Tuesday that handpicking a firm from a country offering a $2.2 billion loan for the construction works, would amount to “breach of the public procurement rules”.
“Public procurement rules are very simple and are at the core of good governance: transparency, free and open access to everybody to the tendering and no discrimination,” he said.

Government urged
“I hope the government will abide by the court ruling and the (Inspectorate of Government’s) recommendations without breaching the public procurement laws because a loan, even if it’s a very soft loan or concession loan, will have to be paid back by Ugandans.”

The considerations, he said, would however be different if Uganda received a grant. The envoy’s comments come weeks after the largely state-owned New Vision reported that China has agreed to deploy resources and firms to build Karuma dam.

President Museveni and his new Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping reportedly sealed the deal during the recent BRICS summit in South Africa, the newspaper reported, quoting unnamed sources.
In the Tuesday interview, Mr Ridolfi made no mention of China but said it would be unfair for the Ugandan government to exclude other “competent” companies and only favour firms from country bankrolling the project.

Call for respect of the law
“The laws of public procurement must be respected. If we are talking about loans, Ugandan tax payers have to pay it back, which means ultimately that the infrastructure will be paid for by Ugandans tax payers, he said, “Therefore, Uganda has the right to get the best value for money. The laws of public procurement were not invented to delay projects, they were invented to give value-for-money to the tax payers, avoid corruption and collusion.”

The process of procuring a contractor for the already delayed Karuma dam has been rife with allegations of corruption, bidders falsifying work records and violation of procurement rules, prompting a plethora of lawsuits and investigations by police, the statutory public procurement entity and Ombudsman.

The Inspectorate of Government cancelled the initial process that placed China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) in pole position to win the $2.2 billion tender, and advised government to restart the process but through restricted international bidding.

Salini, an Italian company, has fought hardest, including through the courts, over the Karuma dam deal.

tbutagira@ug.nationmedia.com