Governor Lusaka under fire for spending Sh25m on beautification

When Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka appeared before the National Assembly's Trade, Industry & Cooperatives Committee on May 6, 2024. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka is facing criticism after it was revealed that his administration spent Sh25 million on beautification for last month’s Madaraka Day celebrations.

Residents and civil society groups are now questioning the governor’s priorities and financial management.

The controversy started when anti-government protestors, led by Gen-Z and civil society members, stormed Lusaka’s office. They demanded an explanation for the county’s spending of over Sh148 million on planning the Madaraka Day celebrations, which is a national government event.

Under pressure, Mr Lusaka admitted to spending Sh25 million on beautification. He explained that the money was used not just for flowers, but also for planting ornamental trees, installing dustbins, erecting metallic sculptures, and clearing drainage.

In a press address, Lusaka defended the expenditure, saying it was meant to improve the county’s appearance for the celebration.

“Spending such an amount of money on flowers is a blatant misuse of public funds,” said Tiger Wanyanja, a director at Mwatikho Torture Survivors.

He added: “This money could have been spent better on essential services such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure development. How could they spend a staggering Sh25 million to beautify Bungoma town? Kenyans, tell us whether it is possible to spend that amount on planting flowers on a dual carriageway road from Kanduyi to Musikoma, which is barely 2-3 kilometers away. We want the governor to tell us where they took the money.”

Lusaka is also under pressure to give the name of the contractor awarded the tender to plant the flowers, the date the tender was advertised, and those who placed bids.

Albert Lumumba from the Centre for Human Rights said, “It’s illegal to do single sourcing for such a tender worth Sh25 million and end up digging a 30cm-wide stretch in the middle of the dual carriageway, plant a few flowers and tell us you spent such an amount of money. It’s impossible.

“If we shall spend public funds in this manner, we are stealing from the wananchi. We must do everything through procurement. We struggle with poor roads, inadequate healthcare, and lack of basic services. It’s disheartening to see our leaders prioritising flowers over our fundamental needs.”

Mr Lumumba also questioned why the county government operates over 300 bank accounts in local commercial banks, saying “the multiplicity of bank accounts is designed to obscure financial transactions and facilitate the siphoning of public funds”.

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o had earlier revealed that Bungoma has 352 commercial bank accounts.

Lusaka said the county government operates 352 bank accounts in local banks. Among these, 165 are for health facilities, four for revenue collection, 152 for vocational training centres, and nine for sub-county imprest accounts.

It has also been revealed that the county spent Sh8 million on ‘media mobilisation’, Sh13 million on electricity bills, Sh6.8 million on aluminum road signage, Sh1.5 million on digital communication, Sh1 million on a jumbo flag, Sh2 million on miniature flags, Sh2.5 million on printing flyers, Sh18 million on billboards and signage, and Sh4 million on catering for the celebrations.

Additionally, Sh1 million was spent on commercial advertising and Sh5 million on preparing the county handbook.

The rest of the money was spent by various departments in preparation for the celebrations. The Land, Urban, and Physical Planning Department used Sh25 million, while the Youth and Sports Department spent Sh60 million. The Gender and Culture Department used Sh5 million, and the Trade Department spent Sh13 million. The Roads and Public Works Department used Sh24.8 million, and the Public Service Management Department spent Sh12 million. The Education Department used Sh1 million, while Sh1 million was spent on the renovation of District Centres for Early Childhood Education.

“Part of the demands was the removal of Dr Monica Fedha, County Executive Committee member for Gender and Sports. I have directed her to proceed on compulsory leave for one month pending investigations into the allegations leveled against her. I have also formed a committee to look into and investigate the allegations levelled against her,” said Lusaka.

He went on: “I call upon the youth and anybody with an issue against Dr Monica to furnish the committee with petitions by July 26 in order to facilitate investigations. The petitions are to be dropped at the County Secretary’s office.”