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{
    "id": 574819,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/574819/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 202,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Eng.) Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "view of the Committee that this was reckless and exposed the Deputy President and the rest of the delegation to potential risk which could have been avoided. The supplier, the EADC Limited quoted to supply a Global Express 6000 Aircraft but instead delivered a Challenger 850. This variation was irregular and illegal. At the time of initiating the procurement, the Office of the Deputy President was “exchequered” for this expenditure. This occasioned desperate efforts to shift funds from the vote heads and seek extra Exchequer releases from the Treasury. It is a breach of Government financial regulations to initiate procurement in the absence of Exchequer provisions. No contract was signed between the Office of the Deputy President and the supplier, EADC Limited, for the aircraft hire. An incomplete Local Purchase Order (LPO) was irregularly issued to initiate payment to the supplier and four Local Service Orders (LSOs) and one LPO leaves mysteriously disappeared under suspicious circumstances raising fears of intended fraud. There appears to have been deliberate attempts to exploit the haste with which this trip was arranged and use it as a cover up to defraud the Government and the taxpayer. The highly suspicious disappearance of the LSOs and LPO leaves coupled with the failure by the Office of the Deputy President to institute any investigations into this matter and the subsequent hurry to transfer two officers directly involved in the procurement of the aircraft hire all point to an attempted fraud and a deliberate subsequent effort aimed at a cover up. There seems to have been an attempt to unduly influence the Office of the Deputy President into entering a long-term contract with the EADC Limited and/or Vista Jet for the supply of aircraft services for some indeterminate length of time. It appears these efforts were abandoned when the matter attracted media spotlight and public attention and scrutiny. There is no evidence to indicate that the Deputy President was directly involved in either the organisation of the tour or the procurement process for the hire of the aircraft. As I conclude, the Committee notes with grave concern the apparent widespread financial and procurement malpractices in Government fueled by what bears the hallmark of a culture of impunity that routinely condones breaches of procurement procedures and financial regulations. The Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury must take urgent remedial steps and submit a comprehensive report to the National Assembly within six months from the date thereof to rectify such anomalies. The Committee finds Mrs. Marianne Kitany, Chief of Staff in the Office of the Deputy President, culpable for dereliction of duty, negligence and inertia. She failed and/or refused to institute investigations into the case of missing LSOs and LPO and/ or to take any steps to hold accountable those suspected of criminal acts. Instead she had them hurriedly transferred to other Ministries in the midst of the audit into this matter. The Committee also finds that Mr. Abdul Mwasera, Secretary of Administration; Mr. Evans Nyachio, Senior Assistant Director of Supply Chain Management; Mr. Simon Okoth, Supply Chain Management Officer and Mr. Paul Kamau, Senior Financial Officer as well as EADC Limited culpable on varying grounds for breaches of procurement laws, regulations and related malpractices. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}