Forget about NYS! Here’s the mega scandal that has thrown CS Rotich, Chelugui in hot soup

Treasury CS Henry Rotich and his Water counterpart Simon Chelugui have been dragged into the Sh68 billion construction of dams scam, which has put them in a hard tussle with some political leaders. Will they bow to pressure and resign?

Well, former deputy prime minister and ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi wants the duo to resign over the scam. Mudavadi said officials heading parastatals mentioned in the scandals should also quit for effective investigations.

“For a start, the Cabinet secretaries for Treasury and Water and the officers associated with this matter, including the CEO of Kerio Valley Development Authority, must go,” Musalia said in a statement on Tuesday.

He was responding to media reports that Sh38 billion was irregularly allocated to an Italian company to build Arror dam.

The allocation was done without regard for procurement procedure.

Other scandals involved Itare Dam Water Supply Project in Nakuru and Kimwarer Multi-Purpose Dam Project in Elgeyo-Marakwet.

The two were to be built at a cost of Sh40 billion and Sh28 billion respectively.

“We spent Sh21 billion on a project that had not even been designed. We carried out due diligence several months after making the payment,” the ANC boss said.

“We did the so-called due diligence in South Africa and not in Italy, where the bankrupt company is domiciled.”

Musalia said the two CSs’ continued stay in office will compromise prosecution and deny Kenyans justice. “If they don’t resign, President Uhuru Kenyatta must sack them, forthwith. It is pointless to investigate persons who are still in office.”

Mudavadi asked Uhuru to take the war against corruption seriously, saying graft has denied Kenyans basic services.

He said the dam projects were deliberately conceived to be phantom assignments to provide avenues for stealing. “These people should not just be allowed to go home to enjoy their stolen wealth. They must be taken to court and ultimately to jail,” Musalia said.

He also wants the suspects’ assets frozen pending their recovery. “I reiterate my call that it is time to move from handshakes to handcuffs.”

He asked Parliament to reject budgets designed for theft and called on the DCI to conduct thorough investigations.

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