By MN Reporter
Migori agriculture executive Valentine Ogongo has differed with Muhuru Bay MCA Hevron Maira over claims of misappropriated funds in his department.
Maira, a member of the assembly’s Agriculture committee, claimed Sh185,738,400 has been misappropriated in his department in a press conference.
READ ALSO: Impeaching Ogongo, agriculture staff not ruled out over ‘missing’ funds- Maira
Maira said several vote heads in the department were not adhered to with some not reaching farmers insisting “money ended up in individual pocket.”
He insisted that what assembly passed in the budget in the last 2018/19 financial year and what was on the ground were totally different.
“We have informed the relevant investigating agencies to come and investigate the entire budget. The system was deliberately designed to steal money through floated procurement,” Maira claimed.
He said while assembly allocated Sh4.2million to buy maize seeds for 40 wards, only 25 bags reached each county against targeted 70 bags for each with similar claims raised against Sh44million allocated for fertilizers.
He also raised issues on Sh5.6million set for fall armyworm eradication, Sh20million for tissue culture banana distribution and Sh100million set aside for dairy cows and sahiwal bulls distribution.
Sh9.5million set aside to build a hostel at Miyare Agriculture Training College are said to have been misappropriated, among other vote heads.
But Ogongo dared him to go ahead and constitute an impeachment motion against the allegations which calling Maira a “mad man” who is “wasting time with allegations without coming to his office or summon him through the assembly.”
“Maira has the power to summon me to assembly and initiate impeachment motion if he has any claims, most are unsubstantiated. He sits in Agriculture Committee and should know better. A frog’s cry will never present a cow from drinking,” Ogongo said.
He said Sh9.5million allocated to Miyare ATC was revised to Sh45million and work is going on while procurement process to get dairy and sahiwal cattle stopped mid-way as no one won the tender.
He said his department had all list of farmers who benefitted from several vote heads raised by the MCA and not money was lost.
In April, Maira wrote a letter against clerk Tom Opere over similar claims leading to his suspension.
Opere moved to Kisumu Employment, Labour and Relations Court to challenge his suspension in ongoing court battle.
