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Kenya: Water Firm Loses Sh12m to Fraudsters
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The Nation (Nairobi)
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Mathias Ringa And Muchiri Gitonga
Nairobi
I llegal water connections and fraudulent meter adjustments have cost the Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company Sh12 million in lost revenue, it emerged Sunday.
The company's managing director, Mr Anthony Chitavi, said some workers colluded with consumers in the illegal connections and meter adjustments. Speaking to the Press in Mombasa, Mr Chitavi said the scandal has been going on unnoticed since the firm was established three years ago. However, he did not reveal the culprits, saying that the matter was still under investigation.
Meanwhile, the company has spent Sh5 million to rehabilitate the Kipevu sewerage plant. Elsewhere, the Government's auditor has asked former members of Nyeri Town's Constituency Development Fund (CDF) committee to explain various irregularities in funding of projects in the 2006/2007 financial year. Among the anomalies unearthed by the auditor were five mysterious bank accounts operated by the committee members alongside the main CDF account, with deposits amounting to Sh4 million.
Two of the accounts, according to the report by Central Province's assistant director of audit, Mr Nicholas Kagondu, could not be identified and no information was provided for their identification.
"It could not be established when the accounts were opened, who the signatories of the accounts were and for how long the accounts had been operated as no documents were given to confirm the same," the auditor said.
Found guilty
A preliminary investigation by the national management committee under the chairmanship of Mr Nduati Kariuki had last year found the committee guilty of various malpractices, prompting former Nyeri Town MP Peter Gichohi to disband it.
According to the auditor's report, Sh15 million was also re-allocated to unapproved projects contrary to section 9 (2) of the CDF Act 2003, which bars such a move.
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The report also says that approved projects were over-funded. It also questions the use of Sh8.5 million on road projects in Nyeri Town for the 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 fiscal years.
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