Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki has termed graft allegations on procurement of a Sh 34 million incinerator by his government as political witch-hunt.
The county boss dismissed claims that a company associated with him, Generations Electronics and Allied Limited procured the incinerator at Sh4 million and later sold to his government at Sh34 million.
He said during an interview at a local TV station based in Meru County that his political enemies were out there seeking to tarnish his name by spreading propaganda on media.
Some of the companies that expressed interest in the tender included Debra Limited, Grey spiral Limited and Gentech.
“Generations was not among the 10 companies that applied for the tender,” Njuki said.
Market survey
The county boss said before the tender was advertised in the dailies, the Department of Environment conducted a market survey and public participation was later done.
The department came up with specifications for the incinerator and with help of engineers agreed on the lowest price that it was to go for at Sh40 million, Njuki said.
The estimated cost was to cater for purchase of the incinerator, its installation and construction of the structure where it would be housed as well as training of officers.
He further noted that the County Assembly through the House Urban Committee had given the executive a go ahead to procure the incinerator and also captured the money in the budget.
“Tender was awarded to the lowest bidder Sh34 million saving Sh6 million for the county considering that the estimated cost was Sh40 million,” said Mr Njuki.
EACC
He accused his political rivals of what he termed as sharing false information to Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
On Tuesday, Njuki together with his wife Margaret Muthomi were grilled by the EACC officers at Integrity Centre in Nairobi over suspected abuse of office and flouting of procurement laws.
Sh19 million car
Njuki also defended his decision to purchase his official car, Land Cruiser VX with an engine capacity of 4500cc which is in breach of law that prohibits government official vehicles from exceeding 3000cc.
He said when he took over as the Governor, the Sh15 million one that his Predecessor Samuel Ragwa used was faulty and on some occasions embarrassed him citing an instance when it broke down at Kajuki area as he proceeded to Marimanti town.
“Cheap is expensive. We had spent a lot of money repairing the old vehicle. This will not just serve me but also whoever picks over from me,” he noted.
Njuki further said he was ready to defend his decision before the Senate Public Accounts Committee whenever called.
Auditor General Edward Ouko’s report for the year ending June 30 for fiscal year 2017/2018 questioned how the procurement of the vehicle’s number plate from a local car dealer was done.
