Was Deputy President William Ruto in order when he said that no money has been lost in the Dams scandal?
Thursday saw DP William Ruto sensationally say that no Cash was lost through the tendering process of the construction of Arror and Kimwarer Dams.
He said that the figures doing rounds in the media have been exaggerated and that only 7 billion of the said 21 billion is missing.
Many People now say that the Deputy President was wrong to rush to state that no money was misappropriated because investigations are still ongoing.
The Dam Construction Projects seem to have become the new cash cow for a number of Corrupt individuals within the Country.
For Instance, in Ukambani, we have Thwake Dam in Makueni whose construction costs Sh36 billion. A deposit of Sh7 billion has already been made to the contractors.
But if you look at the work they have done, you’re shocked. What the company has done is worth less than half a billion shillings.
So, to know whether the DP is right or wrong, we need to check whether deposits were made to companies constructing the dams.
Where there is collusion are areas where deposits were paid in advance, and probably in full.
But corruption in projects such as dams is so unfortunate because the people in areas where they are being constructed, like Elgeyo Marakwet, have suffered water shortage just like Ukambani people.
The only solution to the water problem is to have such big dams which are able to supply water the way Ndakaini is doing for Nairobi.
It’s disgraceful if this money is squandered.
Because investigations are ongoing, the DP should wait for the outcome. He might be shocked that the money actually got lost.
The CI should be given a full chance to complete investigations and table a report.
Probably, Parliament should also get involved because it is the house that accounts for money used in these projects.
There must be a budget. We must know were the projects ever budgeted for by Parliament? If so, then it should be followed and known whether the money left the Treasury.
The Public Investments Committee should be able to tell us exactly what happened. It should be able to tell us if the projects were budgeted for and if payments were made.
The DP should wait for investigations to be concluded. His sentiments can interfere with ongoing probes.
But for him to make such remarks, he must have his own reasons. He must have counter-checked with Treasury and seen whether there was a budget and if the money was applied
So, his statement could easily prejudice investigations and the DCI should tell us what exactly happened. If people are culpable, they must be charged.