Nairobi county boss Mike Sonko maintained his innocence after being grilled for nine hours over alleged irregularities in the awarding of garbage collection tenders worth over Sh.160 million.
Sonko, who was summoned by EACC over graft claims last week, presented himself at Integrity Centre at around 7 am Tuesday morning and only stepped out at about 4:20 pm.
Addressing the media as he left the offices of the anti-graft authority, Sonko said the probe took long because the scandal involves 13 companies.
“We took long because we recorded 13 statements…there were 13 companies involved, they were questioning the procurement process,” said Sonko.
“This is a matter that was previously raised by the environment committee of the assembly questioning how some of the companies were awarded tenders without proper qualification and due process of the law.”
Sonko added: “As the CEO of the county, I do not sit in the procurement committee. I am not the accounting officer, but I’ve got the general responsibility for my State officers.”
“We pay around Sh200 million to a company for waste disposal. However, the environmental departmental committee should take responsibility following the issues raised by EACC since I do not know the small things happening in those offices,” Sonko said.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) summoned the governor after a report from the Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee revealed that Sh162 million paid to at least 11 contracted garbage collection firms could not be accounted for.
The County reportedly paid Sh202 million to the companies but only Sh40 million was regularly spent and accounted for.
The Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee said Sonko’s administration could not provide payment vouchers made to these companies or contract documents to support the payment of the said amount.
