Odhiambo said she advised the Murang’a County Assembly against the fund as her office would not release the monies terming the demand of Sh700 million as excessive/FILE
Odhiambo an expert witness in the hearing told the committee that the Ward Development Fund being fronted by MCAs was unconstitutional and that her office had even issued guidelines over how it should be handled among them, that the MCAs should not manage it.
Odhiambo said she advised the Murang’a County Assembly against the fund as her office would not release the monies terming the demand of Sh700 million as excessive.
“The money should be allocated to specific projects under the Executive as opposed to a fund,” said Odhiambo.
She stated that her office had not allocated the monies to any county and had advised the assemblies to stick to their oversight role and ensure projects are implemented in the stipulated time and at the set cost.
Deputy Auditor General Alex Rugera and the auditor in charge of the central hub Julius Mulinge also appeared before the special committee chaired by David Musila (Kitui).
Iria’s lawyers however faulted their report saying it was not admissible because it had not been considered by the County Assembly.
Counsel Ng’ang’a Mbugua demanded documentation to proof that the report was forwarded to the assembly and proper procedure followed.
“The report has not been debated and adopted by either the county assembly or parliament,” said Mbugua.
Rugera countered the lawyer’s statements saying once a report had been signed by auditor at the end of the audit period, it automatically became a public document and could be distributed.
He further stated that whether or not the report was debated in either Houses of Parliament did not make it irrelevant and was therefore valid.
Meanwhile the Murang’a County Assembly also denied that it had approved the allocation and spending of Sh23 million to advertise and publicise the Murang’a Cooperative Society otherwise known as ‘Shilingi kwa Shilingi.
County Assembly member Mary Waithera Njoroge who moved the motion proposing the impeachment of Governor Iria for abuse of office told the special committee reviewing the impeachment that they backtracked on the decision to allocate money after realizing that that it was private institution.
The Governor’s lawyer quoted a letter debated by the assembly appreciating the initiative and how beneficial it would be to Murang’a residents stating that they had not committed a crime since the monies had been appropriated by the assembly.
“After reviewing the membership and documentation there was a recommendation that no money be spent in the initiative,” reacted Waithera.
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