A very senior Principal Secretary in the Jubilee government is on the spot once again over a multi-billion Agriculture scandal which could result in a protracted legal battle.
The PS, Prof Fred Segor, who has worked before at the scandal-ridden Ministries of Health and the Ministry of Water and Sanitation has come under intense scrutiny after a Senate committee of Agriculture recommended a forensic audit of the Galana Kulalu Irrigation Project.
Before going full-blown into Public Service, Professor Segor worked in Eldoret and Moi Universities. He has over 16 scientific publications and 11 other academic papers under his belt.
Segor is also a member of several scientist organizations throughout the world and also locally. He studied his masters and doctorate degrees at the prestigious Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) University.
The project, which was initially designed to irrigate some 10,000 acres of land for maize production is reported to have only 6 per cent of the land with maize!
The scandal, which has drawn criticism from both opposition leaders and county governments, is seen as the next big thing apart from the Arror and Kimwarer Dams saga where several billions are reported to have been looted.
In the irrigation scheme that was touted as the silver bullet to Kenya’s food insecurity, the Senate committee let the genie out of the box by revealing widespread irregularities in the management of the funds.
Embu Senator Ndwiga Njeru who chairs the Agriculture Committee said huge sums of money would be lost in the scam should the issue be shoddily investigated.
“We are staring at another white elephant and stand to lose a lot of money if we don’t handle things well,” he remarked.
In 2014, an Israeli firm-Greenarava was awarded an Sh14.5 billion contract to grow maize on the 10,000-acre model farm, but the contract was later reduced by half to Sh7.2 billion.
Out of the revised figure, some Sh6.1 billion shillings had been paid upfront, yet only 600 acres of the 10,000 acres are actively used for maize-growing.
Reports indicate that there are minimal agricultural activities going on in the site even with more than 84 per cent of the allocated money having been channelled towards the irrigation scheme.
What’s more, the Senate Agriculture Committee deduced from the records in their possession that a whopping Sh580 million shillings were used to clear bushes to pave way for irrigation equipment!
Responding to allegations of misappropriation, Greenarava legal advisor in Kenya, Mr Ken Kamau said that the process of clearing the bushes in order to lay the irrigation plants took longer than expected because it was carried out by the National Irrigation Board (NIB).
The project that was projected in 2014 to end in two years faces no end in sight after the National Irrigation Board drove into an impasse with the Irrigation Contractor- Greenarava.
Projected to end in 2016, the project enters its third year after the deadline.
The Senate committee has invited the Auditor General to establish the truth in the Galana Kulalu irrigation scheme in order to bring to book those implicated in the scandal.
Current Agriculture PS, Prof Fred is at the centre of the mess in the ministry even after the committee appreciated the fact that he had been moved into the Ministry of Agriculture barely a year ago.
PS Segor has been accused of unfollowed promises in his previous dockets.
While he was the PS at the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, PS Segor gave a directive to ensure that banks, hotels, supermarkets and all public establishment construct free toilets where their patrons could relieve themselves.
This happened after a government grace-period of three months ended in April, 2018.
In the report, Public Health Director Kepha Ombacho insisted that the facilities would be free.
“Before a hotel, supermarket or bank is cleared to operate, it must meet minimum sanitation requirements. But county governments let these businesses circumvent the rules and allow the public to pay to use washrooms,” Ombacho said.
However, the program has been grossly unsuccessful, with public establishments largely ignoring the order.
“The ministry’s position is that provision of public sanitation facilities must be free. That is why all banks, supermarkets, parks, bus stations and other public places must have clean water and sanitation systems like washrooms,” said Dr Ombacho.