Cord MPs engage Jubilee counterparts in war of words during House team’s NYS probe.
Hopes of unravelling a Sh826 million attempted fraud at National Youth Service (NYS) were dealt a blow after political fights ruined proceedings of a parliamentary committee meeting called to look into the matter.
The Finance, Planning and Trade Committee had on Tuesday invited Planning and Devolution secretary Anne Waiguru to shed light on the matter.
The session, however, yielded nothing much as committee members took to shouting matches – scuttling any chances of finding the truth behind the attempted theft.
Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandai had filed questions seeking to know the ministry’s position on the issue.
He also sought to know whether power struggles at the NYS had anything to do with the attempted fraud and if “skewed” recruitment at the institution could threaten national cohesion.
The proceedings, however, soon turned into a shouting match as Mr Wandai clashed with his Kisumu Town counterpart, Ken Obura, while nominated MP Oburu Oginga was caught in another bitter exchange with Richard Onyonka (Kitutu Chache) over the NYS inquiry.
Other committee members, including deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso, Starehe MP Maina Kamanda and Kabete lawmaker Ferdinand Waitutu, also defended Ms Waiguru.
The Cabinet secretary in a presentation to the MPs maintained that no money had been lost in the transaction, which was detected at the second stage of a 25-process in the Integrated Financial Management System.
“All procurement is done in line with the public procurement laws. NYS has strong internal controls that detected the fraud on May 25 before over Sh800 million could be transacted,” she said.
Ms Waiguru said the matter was subsequently reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and that investigations were ongoing.
“I wrote to DCI to fast track investigations. No money was lost and even if it went on, the director-general NYS would have still detected it because he would have been the last person to approve the payments,” she said.
The minister, who was accompanied by her two PSs Peter Mangiti (Planning) and Mwanamaka Mabruki (Devolution) as well as NYS director-general Nelson Githinji, announced that out of the payments of Sh826 million that had been prepared, Sh133.2 million has since been ascertained.
“The PS had approved payment of Sh133.2 million worth of contracts. Investigations are ongoing on the balance of Sh695.4 million,” she said.
Ms Waiguru denied knowledge of any rift at NYS, saying it is a disciplined force that recruits youths from across the country. She defended the hirings at NYS, saying 30 youths are recruited from every centre or constituency.
MPs sought to know the distribution of the NYS personnel with Mr Bosire claiming it was tailored towards “politically correct constituencies”.
Ms Waiguru said it would require up to Sh300 billion to increase the number of recruits to cover all the constituencies.
She defended the NYS transformation programme, saying it had put Sh140 million in saccos held by Kibera youths, Sh60 million for Mathare youth and Sh40 million for youth in Mukuru kwa Njenga and Kiandutu slums.
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