Governor James Orengo – Siaya county’s treasury is rotten
Siaya Governor James Orengo has rubber-stamped the fact that the treasury in his county is “rotten”.
He also pointed out that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is conducting investigations of cases of misappropriation within the county.
In a press statement, Mr Orengo also added, “We have stopped payment of pending bills until verification and confirmation save in cases of essential services and emergencies.
No procurements are being undertaken nor new contracts awarded until we are done with the application of the prompt and effective invention.”
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PRESS STATEMENT pic.twitter.com/WF2PZXzQhK
— James Orengo (@orengo_james) September 28, 2022
Earlier, the Daily Nation had exposed how Sh400 million was withdrawn in Siaya, with the transactions happening within 12 days of the August elections.
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The executive also channelled around Sh11.2 million to some Siaya County Assembly clerks. The payments were in total disregard of a moratorium stopping payments of allowances and pending bills.
A closer look at the documents seen by Nation revealed that the Siaya County executive paid a total of Sh11,254,800 to four individuals – Mr Silvester Douglas Ogolla, Mr Kevin Ochieng Masawa, Mr Anthony Odiwuor Omollo and Mr Muga Erick Omollo – believed to be clerks of various committees in the assembly.
However, Mr Orengo dismissed the expose as ‘not news,’ saying, “It justifies the step we have taken to carry out a thorough and comprehensive forensic audit led by a team of experts.”
This comes at a time when the county government remains on the radar of the EACC over the alleged misappropriation of Sh600 million by officials in former Governor Cornell Rasanga’s administration.
The Sh600 million scandal was brought to the front on August 2021 when a Member of the County Assembly (MCA) admitted to receiving Sh150,000 to conceal corruption issues in the county.
According to the West Asembo MCA Ambrose Akuno, Siaya MCAs were given between Sh150,000 to 290,000 by the governor’s office to cover up the misappropriation of funds.
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