Ganze MP distances himself from house committee visit

Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire has refuted claims that he engineered the visit by the Special Funds Accounts Committee of the national assembly to intimidate his predecessor.

The committee led by Endebess MP Robert Pukose on Monday visited Ganze constituency in a mission to establish facts on three suspicious projects undertaken by Ganze NG-CDF in the 2014/2015 financial year.

Other members of the committee were Marwa Kemero, (Kuria East) and Justus Gesito Mugali, (Shinyalu).

The committee urged the EACC and DCI to investigate the projects.

The projects include Petanguo earth dam which received a double allocation from the NG-CDF and the equalization fund, five classrooms at Bamba police station and the Majajani dam.

Also Read: State bans teachers, civil servants from politics

Petanguo dam was allocated Ksh 4 million by the Ganze NG-CDF while equalization fund allocated Ksh 10 million for the same project.

Majajani dam was done at a cost of Ksh 5 million and at the Bamba police station the committee saw an extention of an office block and two cells done at a cost of Ksh 2 million in two allocation of Ksh 1 million each.

Speaking on Tuesday after the groundbreaking of a four classroom project at Bodoi Primary in Jaribuni ward, Mwambire distanced himself from the activities of the committee saying the committee was carrying out its mandate.

Former Ganze MP

Former Ganze MP Peter Shehe accused Mwambire of witch-hunt and intimidation.

Shehe alluded that Mwambire was behind the visit by the committee to try to tarnish his name for political gains.

“I do not tell the committee what to do neither did I invite the committee to Ganze. In the coast region, the committee visited Mvita and Jomvu constituencies in Mombasa County and Kilifi north and Ganze constituencies in Kilifi County. What I learnt is they picked the issues from audits by the auditor general and decided to act on the issues,” said Mwambire

He urged Shehe to let the committee do its work.

Pukose however, said the committee like any other parliamentary committee acts independently.

“Our mandate is to oversee how special funds from the government are utilized. We normally pick some projects in constituencies to ascertain if what is in the books is what is on the ground. No one dictates to the committee what we should do or where we should go,” said Pukose

Pukose said their duty is to make sure members of the public get value for money in the projects done by NG-CDF across the country.

Mwambire said there are many projects by Ganze NG-CDF done in Malindi, Kilifi north and Kilifi south constituencies.