Embu’s fishy land deal spurs hot debate at Assembly
BY JOEY KIMEU
County said to have secretly received Sh50.8 million refund of money in secretive land deal
A ward representative has exposed an alleged corrupt dealing
where the Embu County Government is said to have secretly receive a Sh50.8 million
refund of monies paid to two individuals to purchase a controversial parcel of
land at the Mwea Settlement Scheme.
In 2017, the County Government was said to have irregularly
allocated two parcels of land in Makima Ward to individuals at no cost.
The devolved government then bought the land back from the
beneficiaries at a consolidated price of Sh60 million for the unapproved highly
confidential purpose of establishing a luxury resort next to Masinga Dam.
Makima MCA Phillip Nzangi today said acquisition of land
parcel numbers 4531 and 4045 through Njeru Ithiga and Company Advocates and
from Njue and Company Advocates at Sh23 million and Sh7 million respectively
has since been mysteriously reversed and part of the funds paid back to the
county.
Speaking during a special sitting to consider the second
supplementary budget for the 2018/2019 Financial Year, Nzangi expressed
displeasure on the County Government’s decision to use the money to pave
Ishiara and Runyenjes town streets instead of developing Makima ward; the
original beneficiary.
The MCA stated that it would have been more prudent for the
county to allocate the funds to the Mwea National Game Reserve, which had the
capacity of generating revenue worth tens of millions of shillings every year
instead of channelling it to towns away from where it was initially intended to
be used.
Nzangi seemed to have stirred the Hornet’s nest by making
the revelations after Evurore MCA Duncan Mbui furiously called for evidence
that there was such a refund. Mbui confessed lack of knowledge of the matter
and said the Assembly was also unaware of the undisclosed refund purportedly
being used in his ward.
Several agitated MCAs sought the intervention of the Speaker
on the issue, as Mbeti South MCA Murithi Kiura and his Ruguru Ngandori
counterpart Muturi Mwombo were also quick to stand on points of order to
enquire how the Makima MCA knew of the secret refund yet the Assembly had no
document informing it of such a transaction.
But the Makima MCA wondered why the issue was sparking much
excitement from certain MCAs, yet it was clear that the money that was doing
cabro works in Ishiara and Runyenjes was not part of the initial 2018/2019
budget that was passed at the assembly. He declared the source of the funds
questionable. He said this had opened grounds for future debate on the
clandestine refund.
Speaker Josiah Thiriku sought to put the matter to rest by
ordering Nzangi not to refer to matters that he could not prove by providing
documents to the House. He confirmed that the County Assembly was not seized of
any documents pertaining to the alleged refund. Speaker Thiriku therefore
directed Nzangi to drop further reference to a secret refund.
However, an incensed Nzangi maintained that the money was
deposited into the County Revenue Fund and directed his colleague MCAs to
contact the Department of Finance and Economic Planning to get the finer
details of the transaction. He said he would table the necessary documentation
as evidence of the concealed deal. He stated that he was not crazy to make
unfounded claims in the August House.
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