NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 4 – The Geothermal Development Company (GDC) board has sent home six of its senior managers over the irregular procurement of drilling rig.
The six who included members of the GDC tender committee have been sent on compulsory leave to pave way for investigations.
They include Godwin Mwawongo, Dr Peter Omenda, Praxidis Saisi, Abraham Saat, Nicholas Weke and Caleb Indiatsi.
In a statement, Chairman Gershom Bw’omanwa said the board took the decision following advice from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) last week.
“Following the EACC recommendation issued on October 29, 2015, the board has resolved that the following senior management staff proceed on leave pending further investigations,” the chairman explained.
The board has in the meantime appointed Paul Ngugi as the Acting Managing Director and CEO.
Last week, EACC recommended charges against GDC Managing Director Silas Simiyu and the six for inflating drilling rig prices by over Sh146.8 million.
Simiyu was being investigated for being involved in the tender despite an advice by the tender committee stopping variation of original price.
“The board has not attributed culpability to the aforementioned staff pending conclusive investigations. The board is committed to offering leadership and guidance to the management and staff in order to ensure that GDC achieves its mission of delivering reliable and affordable power to Kenyans,” Bw’omanwa said.
The recent challenges has led to disruption of operations at GDC which led to President Uhuru Kenyatta appointing Bw’omanwa as chair to replace Faisal Abass.
Other members of the board include Dr Stephen Njiru, Salaton Letaipan, Michael Ogwapit, and Florence Chepng’etich.
