kilam
JF-Expert Member
- Aug 5, 2011
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Jun. 02, 2018, 9:00 am
By IMENDE BENJAMIN @theokinda
Kenya's ambitious food security plan, part of Jubilees Big Four agenda, could be a mirage if plunder of irrigation projects is anything to go by.
In his 2015-2016 report, Auditor General Edward Ouko flagged Sh20 billion expenditure allocated to the National Irrigation Board for schemes that cannot be accounted for.
Read: Damning Auditor report shows Sh1.8 billion stolen from NYS
Established in 1966, the board is mandated to develop, control and improve irrigation. It manages the Mwea, Perkerra, Tana, Ahero, West Kano, Bunyala and Bura irrigation schemes. It also runs the Mwea Rice Mills and Western Kenya Rice Mills.
The NIB also implements the Galana-Kulalu Food Security Project in Tana River and Kilifi counties. The project aims to irrigate one million acres within five years.
The Jubilee administration wants to produce 2.76 million bags of maize by the end of this year alone.
The audit shows NIB failed to adhere to procurement rules, cooked financial books, undertook ghost projects and inflated costs. Missing funds cover three financial years.
At the centre of Ouko's probe is the giant Sh7.3 billion Galana-Kulalu irrigation scheme launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2014.
The 10,000-acre project was to produce 20 million bags of maize but the report says only 103,000 bags have been produced since commissioning.
The NIB leased 20,000 acres for five years but only 10,000 acres have been used. The board failed to explain why it leased twice as many acres as required.
Auditor General finds billions missing at Irrigation Board
By IMENDE BENJAMIN @theokinda
Kenya's ambitious food security plan, part of Jubilees Big Four agenda, could be a mirage if plunder of irrigation projects is anything to go by.
In his 2015-2016 report, Auditor General Edward Ouko flagged Sh20 billion expenditure allocated to the National Irrigation Board for schemes that cannot be accounted for.
Read: Damning Auditor report shows Sh1.8 billion stolen from NYS
Established in 1966, the board is mandated to develop, control and improve irrigation. It manages the Mwea, Perkerra, Tana, Ahero, West Kano, Bunyala and Bura irrigation schemes. It also runs the Mwea Rice Mills and Western Kenya Rice Mills.
The NIB also implements the Galana-Kulalu Food Security Project in Tana River and Kilifi counties. The project aims to irrigate one million acres within five years.
The Jubilee administration wants to produce 2.76 million bags of maize by the end of this year alone.
The audit shows NIB failed to adhere to procurement rules, cooked financial books, undertook ghost projects and inflated costs. Missing funds cover three financial years.
At the centre of Ouko's probe is the giant Sh7.3 billion Galana-Kulalu irrigation scheme launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2014.
The 10,000-acre project was to produce 20 million bags of maize but the report says only 103,000 bags have been produced since commissioning.
The NIB leased 20,000 acres for five years but only 10,000 acres have been used. The board failed to explain why it leased twice as many acres as required.
Auditor General finds billions missing at Irrigation Board