Barchok arrested as audit reveals Sh1.4 billion graft scandal in Bomet

Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok is a man under siege as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigates suspected theft of public funds.

Barchok was arrested by EACC officers in Bomet before being escorted to the South Rift Regional Offices in Nakuru.

In a statement, EACC CEO Abdi Mohamud said the Commission conducted a successful operation targeting the governor, eight senior county officials, and two contractors under investigation for conflict of interest and the fraudulent payment of Sh1.4 billion to suppliers and contractors who are senior employees of the Bomet County Government.

The payments, according to the commission, were made for works and services not rendered.

“The operation, which was undertaken in various premises linked to the suspects in Nairobi and Bomet Counties under court orders, yielded crucial evidentiary material that will aid in the finalisation of the ongoing investigation,” stated Mohamud.

Barchok’s arrest comes at a time Auditor General has flagged irregularities in the expenditure of public funds in the 2022/2023 Financial Year Audit report. Among the issues questioned in the audit was the irregular procurement of road maintenance machinery.

The County Government at the time of the audit is reported to have incurred Sh141,547,000 for the supply of five crawler dozers, five  graders or land levelers, and one motorised roller. However, the procurement of the equipment was outside of the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) 2018-2023, Annual Development Plan (ADP) 2022-2023, approved budget and approved consolidated annual procurement plan for the year under review.

“Tender opening minutes dated 28 March 2023 submitted for audit were not initialised in all pages by the committee officials and listed seven  received bids with one bidder who submitted IFMIS bid being disqualified by the tender opening committee for not submitting the manual copy. This was contrary to Section 78(7) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015,” read the report in part.

The audit revealed that five crawler excavators, five motor graders, and one drum roller were delivered except for the five breaker sets, which were yet to be delivered. “Management did not provide supporting documents including the specification of the machines, store ledger record and the inspection and acceptance committee reports. The log books for the crawlers, excavators, and drum roller were not provided for audit,” stated the Auditor General.

The report revealed an irregularity in the expenditure of Sh61.3 million by the county, which was paid for the supply of prime mover, semi-trailer, low bed payload, and tippers on May 24, 2023.

The county government as per the report noted that the procurement was not included in the 2018- 2023 County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) and 2022-2023 Annual Development Plan (ADP).

“Further, physical verification in August 2023 revealed that the prime mover, semi-trailer, low bed payload, and large tippers, were delivered but the County Executive has to date not obtained log books to confirm ownership. In the circumstances, the ownership of assets amounting to Sh61,300,000 could not be confirmed,” read the report.

The County Executive paid Sh4,803,506 to a local company on April 13, 2023, for the hire of an excavator to gravel at Kapkesosio quarry/Kyogong’ quarry through a three-year framework agreement using Requests for Quotations (RFQ).

However, the use of the quotations for awarding contract vide framework agreement as per the audit was contrary to Regulation 102(1)(a)(b) which states that subject to Section 114 of the Act.

The Act stipulates that a procuring entity may enter into a framework agreement through open tender using an invitation to tender which shall specify that the procuring entity intends to establish a framework agreement and the number of suppliers or contractors which shall not be less than seven alternative vendors.

The report revealed that supporting documents including the framework agreement, the RFQs, quotations, bid documents, appointment of ad-hoc opening and evaluation committees, procurement minutes, and duly signed contractual agreement were not provided for audit.

The audit further flagged an irregular payment of over Sh56.5 million advance to New KCC for the supply of milk to Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) Centres. The report revealed that the advance payments of Sh56,540,980 exceeded the allowable limit of twenty per cent of the tender price contrary to Section 147(1) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.

In the audit, it was established that the county government irregularly retained  19 employees beyond mandatory retirement age in service and paid them over Sh10.7 million

Further, the county made a payment totaling Sh13,841,676 to officers whose employment contracts had expired. A review of the employees’ files as per the audit revealed that their contracts were renewed without the recommendations from the County Human Resource Management Advisory Committee.