Setting Record Straight: Why Senator Kiio is Wrong on Crusher

Ballast crusher at Kwa-Kilui 

Our Writer

Two days ago, senator Kiio Wambua visited kwa-Kilui area in Yatta/ kwa-Vonza ward where a stone Crusher worthy millions of shillings has been lying idle since Kaluki Ngilu’s days.

During his visit, the senator made some public pronouncements, some which were completely strange, like the claim that the County Government plans to sell the crusher.

Skymoon Desk happens to be privy to intricate details relating to the fraudulent procurement of the crusher, its establishment where a private contractor was given the work but was allowed to use County Government resources such as machinery and personnel (Engineers) to set up the crushing plant and still billed the County Government for that. 

This desk is also aware of details on how the public lost tens of millions of shillings after the initial price of the Crusher was fraudulently inflated. This desk has also reviewed a committee’s report that investigated the Crusher and made recommendations about the investment, besides analyzing the Auditor General’s (AG) report on the same.

Facts & more facts...

It is from this informed point of view that Skymoon Desk wishes to respond to the senator as follows:

While it is true from the records that over KSH220 million was spent in the name of the Crusher by the Kaluki regime, it is not true that a property of that value/amount lies at kwa-Kilui as the senator suggested.

To jog the senator’s memory, what happened during Kaluki’s time with regards to the Crusher was pure theft and pilferage of public resources. Records from the Auditor General show that the initial cost that was pegged at Ksh45 million was later ballooned to KSh85 million by Kaluki and her ravenous gang of bandits. By the time she was leaving office, the idle Crusher had swallowed in the upwards of KSh220 million, with near zero returns for 5 years.

Steal from crusher, buy crusher...

Some in Kaluki’s circle used the proceeds of crime to buy their own private stone crushers (full details about this coming up). The County residents would then expect the senator to follow up this matter with the relevant authorities and have all the stolen funds recovered from the former governor and her cartels. That would be a patriotic duty on the part of the senator.

It is also not true that the County Government led by Governor Malombe has any plans to sell the crusher. The truth of the matter is that the idea of a stone Crusher was born by Governor Malombe during his first term. He envisioned an investment that would economically and socially empower the residents of Yatta/Kwa – Vonza Ward and generally Kitui Rural through cooperatives.

However, as fate would have it, Governor Malombe exited the stage and in came Kaluki who saw a perfect opportunity to loot public funds in the name of the Crusher. Due to looting and lack of goodwill, the project stalled.  

Committee recommendations...

For purposes of records, when he was sworn in, Governor Malombe established an Assets Committee, aptly named KITUI COUNTY GOVERNMENT MOTOR VEHICLES, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT DETERMINATION, ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION COMMITTEE (2022), with a clear mandate to look into the County Assets, determine their viability and advise accordingly.

The Committee found that the Crusher had since its inception in 2018 taken in financial capital in excess of KSH220 million but had failed to make returns.

According to the Auditor General’s report, Kaluki’s administration was found to be in breach of the procurement law with regards to the Crusher, and the AG concluded that there was no assurance that the County residents would get value for money from the investment. These are public documents and the senator can access them any day.

The fact that the cartels in Kaluki’s administration drew and stole public funds in the name of the Crusher is not a licence for Governor Malombe’s administration to put more funds in it. Doing so would be like throwing good money after bad money. It will not happen.

And this is why the Committee, in its report, advised the Governor as follows.

Recommendations on KICOSTON (The Kitui County Stone Crusher)

1. County to assist the local residents to form a cooperative society to raise capital and buy stake in the entity.

2. The county should cede ownership and control of the plant in phases to give the community time to learn and build on their managerial capability.

3. Develop a revenue management policy and how the revenue collected will be shared.

4. CGoK to operationalize the KICOSTON for revenue generation.

6. Embrace corporate social responsibility (CSR) upon the host community.

7. In the short run, the County Government should appoint a board of directors to run the entity.

From the recommendations above, there is none that talks about SELLING the Crusher as alluded by the senator.

What true oversight looks like...

This desk also wishes to reiterate what the Governor has told the senator; that for him to be credible in his oversight work, he needs to engage the relevant committees at the Senate to undertake that work. He is free to accompany such committees.

“Let the senate carry out its oversight role of county projects as an institution of the Senate, but not an individual senator,” Governor Malombe advised. 

We wish to echo these sentiments from the Governor. Senator Kiio risks the danger of being seen as engaging in self serving politics if he continues with his lone ranger façade of public show off.

Breathing life to battered Kitui...

It is still fresh in every person’s mind that the aftermath of Kaluki’s corrupt and insensitive regime left behind shattered dreams, disillusioned Kituians, a broken system and a county in ruins. Therefore, there was no better candidate than Dr Malombe to take up the ruins of the county, breathe a life to them and get the county back on a path of growth and hope.

This is why today, the County residents in their hundreds of thousands continue to rally behind Governor Malombe in total support of his transformation agenda. Once a haven of cartels, the County under the stewardship of Governor Malombe is undergoing remarkable transformation. This explains why the County is calm unlike in the past.

It would then be very ambitious for anybody, more so a politician with political ambitions to imagine that the people have relaxed their support for the Governor.

Self destruction? Beware! 

In his zeal to oversight the county government, senator Kiio must be careful not to alienate himself from the County residents, who are hungry for true development and who are nudging Governor Malombe to make up for lost time.

Senator Kiio should be careful not to engage in politics of self-immolation. 

And that's the way it is.