Kenya's Most Authoritative Political Newspaper

Citizen Weekly

Sunday 18 January 2015

Bumula MP opens battlefront with Bifwoli

Bumula MP Boniface Otsiula has called upon his predecessor Wakoli Bifwoli and his CDF team to account for the Sh52m meant for water project that never was.
Otsiula said an audit should be carried out to ascertain where the money vanished to, adding that the former MP and his CDF team used the said cash for funding ghost projects and for their selfish interest.
The claimed Mwai Kibaki launched the project at a cost of Sh27.4m but was duped as the water in the storage tanks was ferried overnight by donkeys.
 “The former CDF committee had allocated a lot of funds for water projects in the area but none had been initiated as they were just on the spree of enriching themselves and this is very wrong. As we are talking now, the people travel long distances in search of water when a few individuals embezzled the funds and must be brought to book,” said Otsiula
He said the Sh52m that had been allocated for the projects in the area should be returned to the kitty so that the projects can be undertaken, arguing that he will not relent until the said money is recovered.
Otsiula reiterated that a report from the Controller of Budget in 2010 revealed that a total of Sh37.4 m meant for a water project in Bumula constituency had been misappropriated.
“The report revealed that there was no dam constructed in this constituency yet funds had been allocated for the project but only pipes were laid for an ongoing project for the Malakisi Water Station which supplied water to Malaba town in the neighbouring Busia county but not one meant for Bumula,” lamented Otsiula
The Bumula legislator also said that the project involved the construction of a water dam and laying of pipes in Mukwa, Kibuke and Siboti locations respectively, arguing that it was difficult to allocate more money to the water projects as records show that the projects have been implemented.
“It’s impossible for us to allocate more money for the same projects since records indicate that they had been implemented and the contractors should be told go back to site to complete the work they were given failure to which they refund the money they cashed in after winning the tender,” decried Otsiula
Wakoli dismissed the claims raised by his successor, saying that he has no track record of development since he assumed office and should stop tainting his name in a bid to get sympthathy from the electorate.
Wakoli added that the MP is afraid that he will be back to the ballot come 2017 and knows well that it will be a tall order for him to go back to parliament, arguing that the electorate are not satisfied with him since he is not development oriented.
“Otsiula is a first-time MP and should not think by tainting my name to the electorate will make him return to parliament come 2017. He should be informed that I rose to the position of an assistant minister and he should know that when he sneaked into parliament, he can intimidate me,” said Bifwoli

No comments:

Post a Comment