This archive report was first published on 19 May 2020.
May 19, 2020 - Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo has been drawn into a supremacy war between local road contractors and alleged outsiders over the award of multimillion-shilling projects in the county.
A new association of road contractors based in Vihiga has accused the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in charge of roads, Emanuel Tunya, of working in cahoots with individuals from outside the county to deny locals jobs.
According to Samuel Alwanga, a spokesperson for the association, of the 45 road contracts currently ongoing in the county, 42 jobs were awarded to one contractor using several companies and proxies.
Alwanga alleged that there is a trend where companies associated with a Mumias politician, Kembu, are being awarded jobs using different companies as local contractors' applications are rejected on flimsy grounds.
“We have observed a trend where companies associated with a Mumias politician Kembu are being awarded jobs using different companies as our applications are rejected on flimsy grounds,” he said.
Alwanga claimed that there were also plans afoot to award 20 other jobs that were advertised last month to the same contractor, saying the move is in bad faith and is aimed at killing local contractors.
Investigations by Weekly Citizen show that several award letters were given out to three companies associated with the politician for maintenance of roads within three sub-counties of Vihiga.
The contractors have threatened to storm the office of the CEO of roads and public works if the award of tenders in the building of roads sector is not streamlined to take care of their interests, saying as locals, they were entitled to contractual jobs from the county.
