As the deadly Coronavirus continues to sweep across Kenya, it appears there are political leaders who have seen it as an opportunity to loot public funds through unscrupulous purchases of goods for the county.
MCAs in Bungoma County are accusing Governor Wycliffe Wangamati of purchasing a total of 600, 20-liter jerricans at a cost of 10,000 each. If this is true, then this will go down as another grand ripoff by the leadership of Bungoma County.
Currently, a 20-liter jerrican retails between 100 and 120 shillings. This means that the price of each jerrican was inflated by 8250 percent.
Lwandanyi Ward MCA Tony Barasa said that all efforts by a section of MCAs to get answers from the Governor concerning the procurement of the containers have gone unanswered.
The MCAs have also claimed that some of the officials at the county of Bungoma are using the fight against Covid-19 to inflate prices of goods, some of which are not even purchased.
Governor Wangamati and his government are said to have procured the jerricans to help residents of the county maintain hygiene by washing their hands using soap and water to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
This is not the first time for such “funny” scandals to hit Bungoma County. Former Governor, now Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka was accused of purchasing wheelbarrows at the cost of more than 100,000 shillings each.
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