The ongoing process to hire a substantive Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the trouble-ridden Coast Water Works Development Agency took a new twist following a court order stopping Acting CEO Martin Tsuma and the agency's directors from accessing office.
Justice Monica Mbaru of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) issued conservatory orders restraining Mr. Tsuma and seven deputy directors from accessing office. Hiring scandal at Coast Water Agency sees court stop top officials from office access and salary payments.
The six other officials include Simon Charo (Deputy Director Human Resource and Administration), Engineer David Kanui (Deputy Director Project Planning and Design), Stephen Masai Kivuva (Deputy Director Finance), Salim Ali (Deputy Director ICT), Hamadi Mwazito (Deputy Director Internal Audit), and Mary Okioma (Deputy Director for Corporation and Legal Services).
The petitioner, John Abura, who filed a case challenging the eligibility of the office holders, argues that the positions occupied by the said individuals were not advertised and that the board was compromised to handpick people to fill the positions.
The judge gave stay orders against the appointment of the officers, who have also been barred from withdrawing any salaries and allowances from the Exchequer. View document Confusion at the agency over the recruitment of a new CEO has reigned supreme after the board made a surprise decision to renew the contract of Martin Tsuma by six more months.
This is despite having conducted interviews to substantially fill the position in what appears to be a choreographed campaign within the Ministry of Water to maintain the status quo at the agency.
Three names had already been forwarded to the Ministry of Water for appointment of a substantive CEO.
“They have extended his contract by six months, and there is a possibility that the appointment of a new CEO may remain a pipedream,” a source stated.
The decision to extend Tsuma’s reign was reportedly reached after consultation with the Ministry of Water and Sanitation Principal Secretary Elias Chimulambe.
There are now fears that cartels in the water ministry may have invaded the process of appointing a substantive CEO.
The process has been shrouded in controversy with corruption allegations that have flared all over social media.
The board chairman Daniel Mwaringa, Martin Tsuma, and some of the directors have been accused of soliciting bribes from candidates who qualified for the interviews.
The new CEO was supposed to oversee the implementation of Ksh 6 billion water projects to improve water supply in Mombasa and Kwale counties.
This involves construction of a major water transmission pipeline and a water reservoir connecting Mombasa and Kwale counties.
The project is set to begin before the end of the 2023/24 FY, with the procurement process already halfway complete.
The candidates who had been interviewed for the CEO position include Abdikadir Mohammed, Abdulhakim Aboud Bwana from Lamu, Abedi Joseph Malusha from Taita Taveta, Ahmed Adan Hefow from Wajir, Biwott Gilbert Kipkorir from Uasin Gishu, CPA Florence Tabu Birya from Kilifi, and Eng. Ndunya David Ngumbao from Kilifi.
We also have Hamoud Mwinyi Mguza from Mombasa, Ibrahim Ahmed Sane from Tana River, Kennedy Tembo Francis with no county indicated, Richard Kibengo Wandana from Taita Taveta, and Stella Wawuda Tayo from Taita Taveta.
The water agency has also been dealing with internal fights following the interdiction of Human Resource Manager Simon Charo Menza.
The controversy adds injury to the rot bedeviling water agencies that have otherwise become cash-cow entities for the political elites in the country.
In March this year, reports emerged of how the Water Fund Managers colluded in a SFh69 million tender deal in Taita Taveta.
Media reports linked senior officials at the Water Services Trust Fund for colluding with national and county water agencies to put up scripted bid estimates targeted at defrauding taxpayers’ money.
The reports linked Tavevo Water and Sewerage Company Limited to misappropriation of funds under tender No. TVOTVTTCW000620232024 for the construction of Kaloleni Water Supply Project in Taita Taveta, with the water fund at the centre of it all.
Through collusion with Tavevo, the fund influenced the bidding process for the tender, where some of the estimates supposed to come from engineers directly came from the fund.
The whole scheme involved the fund sharing engineers' estimates with cronies and close allies of officials at Tavevo under instructions from WSTF Chief Executive Officer Willis Ombai.
An estimate and distribution document in our possession shows that the WSTF budget for the project was Sh46,506,478.32, but estimates given by engineers stood at Sh61,431,064.20. The first disbursement to be made was Sh36,744,690.19.
However, more accompanying measures were included in the estimates, where an additional Sh5,210,529.14 and contingency fees of Sh3,332,079.67 were included to bring the total sum to Sh69,973,673.01 against a grand total budget of Sh52,973,673.00 available by WSTF.
In regard to the same, a lobby group wrote to Tavevo requesting necessary documents related to the tender.
The Commission for Human Rights and Justice wrote to the company requesting necessary minutes and the report of the tender valuation committee, subsequent to which a cancellation of the entire tender should be undertaken.