NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 28 – Former Speaker and Gender Administrative Secretary Beatrice Elachi has denied claims of abuse of office during her tenure as Nairobi County Assembly Speaker.
The Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) is investigating Elachi over alleged irregular promotion of senior officers during her tenure as Nairobi County Assembly Speaker.
In a letter dated September 22 and addressed to the clerk of the Nairobi County Assembly, the anti-graft agency stated that it is investigating Elachi who also served as the Nairobi City County Assembly Service Board.
The agency said it was also investigating the board over illegal conduct.
While commenting on the promotion saga on Tuesday Elachi claimed EACC had not given her the the opportunity to reply to the allegations in the interest of justice.
“When I joined the County Assembly, I found my former the late Alex Magelo has started a process. This process was under Deloitte, where they had paid Sh 5 million to create a structure and to now use that structure as the structure of County assembly which is okay. When I came in, I found them implementing. I proceeded to implement the same so that we are not also questioned on the issue of public resources,” Elachi said.
The former Speaker stated that the final decision on whom to employ or promote was reached following intense consultation from different parties.
“So, at that time, I went I asked for an officer from the ministry of Public Service, we had an officer from Strathmore, different people came in to help us to relook at the structure and the model they had chosen, and we decided let us do a model that is within the national assembly and Kiambu county, those are the models I picked,” she added.
Elachi rubbished the claims of bias stating that all the promotions were done according to the law. The Gender CAS further said that all the candidates were promoted based on merit.
She termed the move by EACC as a ploy to defame her as the country heads to the 2022 general elections.
“Today I am here again to tell EACC that it is unfair when you do things in a political way. It is unfair when you defame somebody’s name, because if it is being biased, I didn’t employ to become biased. I found people employed in Nairobi County, I did not tell the Luhyas to read very hard to have the papers I did not tell Kikuyus to have those papers, so if you are saying I am biased, that I took a few and left a few, its because of the papers,” she said.
Elachi added that all those promoted deserved to be elevated adding that she has been forced to clarify on the issue since the country was headed to the election adding that she’ll will still have to go to the EACC for clearance when she throws her hat into the politics.
She also called on the EACC to clear her on the first allegations against her which they found her not to have done it.
“I want them also to clear me on the first things they thought I did and I never did. I need a letter to appreciate that they have gone through the file, they knew I didn’t do it, they give it to me. This one 17th of March, they need to go back to their file and check what I gave them, it is exactly what they have asked again. I think it id not fair,” she said.
Elachi called on Parliament to consider introducing contractual system of employment on some institutions such as the EACC and the public service to prevent the employees from taking advantage of the current system to abuse office.
She gave an example of a senior employee in the city county who currently holds four dockets adding that it hinders service delivery.
The Gender CAS lauded General Mohamed Badi for his leadership but insisted that the NMS boss needs help.
“Badi has tried and can still try but to be very honest, he needs help. He needs to have a team that takes him up to the election time. So that by the time he is coming to hand over to the new governor, somebody has done even a document, that says we took the county at this level, we took your four functions, we are returning the four functions having dome this health, roads, housing, in all that, and you hand over that report,” she added.
Elachi added that it will be disastrous not to have such a team during the transition period adding that the deal with Badi is slated to expire in February 2022.
She stated that the parties behind her woes should be thinking about ways to extend Badi’s mandate to August, and stop focusing on political witch hunt.
Elachi resigned in August 2020 after a protracted battle with the city’s ward representatives over her leadership which was marred with conflicts.
About The Author
