The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is investigating five counties over the use of billions of shillings at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The commission seeks to find out how procurement, tender awarding and employment were conducted during the period.
The commission CEO Twalib Mbarak said that initial investigations indicated that the tendering and procurement were skewed leading to loss of money.
Although he failed to disclose the names of the governors and counties that the investigations touched on, Mbarak implied the involvement adding that investigations were at a high level.
He said, “We are investigating how five counties procured their services and employed staff in the period and soon we shall arrest some senior people over this.”
Mbarak further defended EACC on the controversial saga in Kemsa, saying that it had done its part and handed over the inquest file to DPP.
“This is a sensitive case and the DPP is going through the file to make sure we have a water-tight case and all gaps are filled before going to court,” the EACC boss said.
He was speaking in Enashipai Spa in Naivasha at the end of an integrity course targeting senior KDF officers.
Some counties have already been flagged by the auditor-general as having misappropriated millions of shillings in procurement of drugs and personal protective gear.
According to a special audit on the utilization of Covid-19 funds by the counties released in December 2020, counties did not have approved work plans, procurement plans and training plans specific for Covid-19 related activities to facilitate utilization of the National Government funds in the financial year 2019/2020.
The report indicated that county governments received Covid-19 related funds amounting to Sh7,705,900,000. This comprised the conditional grants of Sh5 billion, allowances for the front-line health workers Sh2,355,900,000, and grants from DANIDA of Sh350,000,000.
It also flagged several procurement irregularities such as the absence of approved procurement plans, procurement done from unqualified bidders, procurement done without market survey, and absence of competitive bidding in the procurement process.
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