Waiguru disowns Sh1.8m TV and office piano in Facebook rant
Devolution and Planning Secretary Anne Waiguru has denied claims of having a touchscreen television worth Sh1.8 million among a litany of inflated fittings in her Harambee House office.
In a statement on her Facebook account, Ms Waiguru also said she does not have an office piano as claimed by documents presented to Parliament.
“For the record I have no such TV screen or piano in my office,” said Ms Waiguru on Wednesday morning.
The Devolution Secretary instead wants accounting officers in her ministry to be held to account for the extravagant procurement and purchase revealed to MPs on Tuesday.
“Both by law and in practice, I do not procure. I do not purchase anything for the ministry. I don’t sign or negotiate contracts. Where instances of possible malpractice has been brought to my attention I have called in investigative authorities,” Ms Waiguru said in her statement.
UNWARRANTED ATTACKS
“At no point has any investigation either by EACC (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission)), CID (Criminal Investigation Department) or any other body pointed to my personal engagement with corrupt deals. Yet the vicious unwarranted attacks continue.”
The Devolution Secretary also made a sensational attack at the Kenyan media, claiming that similar wastage and theft of public funds in other ministries had not been ‘personalized’ on the respective Cabinet Secretaries.
“It’s amazing that whereas there are similar and more serious allegations of misuse of funds in many government departments there is never the personalized level of attack on CSs that has been directed at me.
“Surely this is no longer about the fight against corruption. It’s calculated evil, vindictive and ill intentioned. It’s an unfortunate distraction from the work the Ministry has been doing in the last two years,” she said.
The statement was also posted on her verified Twitter account.
EXTRAVAGANCE
Here are some of the curious spends by the Devolution Ministry:
1. Supply and installation of a touch screen in her office at a cost of Sh1.798 million.
2. Computers, a printer, telephone headsets and a water dispenser at a combined cost of Sh1.4 million.
3. Huduma Kenya Secretariat paid Sh174,000 for 20 blue, fine-tipped ball point pens, meaning each was bought at Sh8,700.
4. Bought a photocopier machine at Sh1.4 million.
5. 45 external hard disks at Sh11,102 each.
6. A laptop bought for Sh206,000.
7. 18 tailor-made clear male and female condom dispensers at Sh25,000 each.
8. Corel Draw software for Sh3.4 million.
9. A computer and personal laptop for Sh1.1 million.
10. Carpets at Sh3.8 million.
11. Anti-virus software that can be bought at Sh75,000 in the open market but supplied to the ministry at Sh973,780
12. Adobe In Design CS6 software at Sh1.9 million while it can be bought at Sh160,000.
13. The directorate also bought a Yamaha Piano for office use at Sh235,500.
14. In one case, the ministry bought one shredder for Sh64,750 and on the same day bought three others for Sh930,000, meaning it paid more than four times the cost of one for the second lot.
15. In November 2013, the Huduma Kenya Secretariat paid Sh242,500 for 100 4GB flash disks, meaning it paid Sh2,425 for a flash disk that ordinarily costs Sh500 on the open market.
