KPA MD, Procurement Manager and Junior Officers on the Spot over Port Mismanagement
BY ISAACK MUTUA
Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Captain William Ruto together with the agency’s head of procurement Evelyne Shigoli and Charles Kotut are on the spot over suspected irregularities and mismanagement of the port affairs.
Also on the spot is principal security officer Patrick Kioko who is being accused of working with cartels on behalf of the MD and senior government officials.
Insiders have confided that the agency presented a budget that amplifies what has been budgeted corruption where floating of tenders for services not necessary for the running of the port.
The MD is said to be working with private companies, some referred by senior government officers to among other things allow in contraband goods.
Transport CS Kipcumba Murkomen in 2023 declared KPA will partner with the private sector through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework to bridge its financing gaps to finance capital intensive projects for the next five years.
While noting “port privatisation” has remained a hot topic in the region, Murkomen said it is important for the conversation to remain as intensive because the PPP projects are not supposed to be boardroom decisions made by few people.
Despite the CS promising that the government wanted the People of Kenya, especially at the Coast to be part and parcel of the conversation on the concessioning and attracting private investments, Captain Ruto is also battling nepotism allegations.
While the port has been registering improvements in its operational efficiency, stakeholders are worried the uncontrolled financial malpractices may taint and jeopardize the progress made.
It has been established that investigations may be launched against some of the seniors officers while at the same time, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is believed to have completed some of its investigations that could see some of the Officials prosecuted.
Some of the officers have been abetting crime in procurement and manipulating systems leading to massive revenue losses.
The biggest issue at the port as per our insider revelations is tax evasion and entry of contraband cargo.
Abetting crime in procurement and manipulating systems leading to massive revenue losses is a major concern.
Captain Ruto and Shigoli are said to have colluded in most of the tendered the tenders within the last one year.
Shigoli and other officers at the Port, with the help of the MD have become one of the biggest cartels at the state agency with the MD as per our investigations claiming that everything he does is on behalf of the highest office in the country and that no one can dare touch him.
Senior officers at the port have massively benefited from exaggerated tender deals among them,Provision of Electrical Works, Supply, Installation and Commissioning of Intelligent Structured Cabling, Customer Relationship Management System, Provision of Rehabilitation Facilities and Services, Provision of Outpatient and Inpatient Services to staff among others.
Shigoli for your was among top officials at KPA who were blamed for the mysterious death of two people at the coastal port.
The two, Oline Najoli and Paul Anywala were killed by a ship-to-shore gantry crane belonging to Abetec Limited owned by a Nairobi based billionaire of Hindu origin.
They died after the crane failed to function only to crash the two into untimely death.
The port’s management had advertised disposal of four unserviceable ship-to-shore gantry cranes in a tender labeled KPA/089/2022-23/PSM.
The tender was given to Abetec Limited under unclear circumstances.
Shigoli is among the top managers whose qualifications and promotion is in question as per Employment act and KPA regulations where one has to pass all the qualifications as required by law. Probe how she skipped one managerial department from HM1 to now HM2.
The MD is also facing accusations of setting up a team led by his personal assistant to extort millions of money from unsuspecting suppliers who want their bids approved.
Recent tenders issued between October 2023 and January 2024 among them provision of Cleaning and Landscaping Services are in contest.
The Civil Engineering Department has also become a difficult place to transact any business with top most Engineers among them Sidai and his assistant cum counter part Eng Mwaura fleecing money from the corporation by intimidating Contractors and Suppliers.
Civil works are being awarded under the table to the highest bidder to the 2 Engineers. They have contractors who are permanently at work because they are able to give big kick backs and yet deliver shoddy jobs.
A few cases where some good and honest contractors are black listed and told on the face that they will never work in KPA mombasa as they did not deliver the money Eng Sidai and Eng Mwaura wanted.
There was a case where a contractor was awarded a 10 million job with a cost of doing the job at 7 million.
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