Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko has been put to task to shed light on why an Sh76 million dredging machine remains unused since it was purchased in 2016.
Tobiko on Wednesday appeared before members of the Regional Integration Committee of the National Assembly to explain why the machine, which had been purchased to assist in the removal of the water hyacinth from Lake Victoria has continued to be idle.
The CS and the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) manager Francisca Owuor were grilled over the machine as the government continues with the fight to clear the weed from the Lake.
The committee noted that it was unfortunate that the team is unable to deal with the weed in the lake even after receiving funding from the World Bank.
It also emerged that the bank has already pumped more than Sh4 billion into the project to be used for tree planting among other initiatives in the region but there is no so much going on at the project site.
The lawmakers also questioned why the team decided to procure a machine yet it lacks the specifications to deal with water hyacinth in the lake.
They were forced to look for another machine to resolve the problem even after millions have been spent on the other one.
According to Kasipul Kabondo legislator Eve Obara, the machine was idle yet some of the parts are already damaged.
Tobiko said that the matter has been presented to the office of the Attorney General as they wait for the verdict on the same.
He noted that they require Sh1 million to repair it before it can be used after remaining idle for long.
“We have put the matter before the Attorney-General’s office with a view to getting an advisory opinion,” Tobiko told the committee, as quoted by Daily Nation.