Machakos government cannot account for Sh850 million spent on procurement of motor vehicles in 2013/14 financial year, says deputy governor Bernard Kiala.
Addressing the press at his office in Machakos town on Tuesday, Kiala said there is a lot of wasteful and planned stealing of county government equipment and machinery.
“Complaints from the public that there are machinery and equipment belonging to the Machakos government hidden in various private places within the county are not hear-say but established facts, there are several vehicles that are hidden in a number of places including county chiefs and executive members homes,” said Kiala.
Kiala said a number of tractors, graders, pickups, water drilling machines and lorries were hidden in private premises in Machakos, Kitui, Makueni and Kiambu counties.
“These officers appear to be under the protection of the top county leadership and therefore, nothing will be investigated or recovered, it appears to be a scheme from top of the county government. We need to be given inventory on county machinery and equipment for entire period the county government has been in existence,” said Kiala.
Kiala said the government used public funds to purchase vehicles some of which their log books were not changed from the dealers.
He said the government spends over a billion shillings yearly to fuel such vehicles that are used by civilians alongside others officially under its possession, an expenditure the county government cannot sustain.
“Machakos government cannot account for Sh850 million spent on purchases and procurement of motor vehicles in 2013/14 financial year, it spends another over a billion shillings in fuel and lubricants yearly. This is an expenditure this county cannot sustain,” said Kiala.
On March 16, 2016, this reporter spotted a grader belonging to the Machakos Government at a maize plantation in Kiasa village in Mavoko sub-county after residents raised concerns that it had lied in the private property for more than two years and it was being vandalized.
It has since been moved from the scene.
The county’s secretary and director of communication Mutinda Mwanzia refuted the claims terming them political.
Speaking to this reporter on the phone, Mwanzia said it was unfortunate the grader had been moved from the scene asserting investigations were being done to ascertain circumstances under which the tractor was abandoned for more than two years at an individual’s maize plantation.