Cash for medical waste treatment gone: Wandayi

National Assembly Minority leader and Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi during the National Dialogue Committee submissions on October 3, 2023. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]

Minority Leader in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi wants the Council of Governors (CoG) and National Treasury to clear the air on missing maintenance and management money for a microwave medical waste treatment project signed between the Kenya and Belgian governments.

The lawmaker said they had information that some officials of the CoG and National Treasury were involved in matter.

Mr Wandayi on Thursday said that he will be revealing more in the coming days. He added that counties agreed to the deal on the understanding that it would include funding for maintenance and management of the equipment.

"In the end, the cost of the contract signed by the National Treasury rose by 60 per cent despite a tax waiver (Euros 1,430,000 per machine in Phase 2 against Euros 900,000 in Phase 1). But the money for the maintenance and management of the equipment is missing. It has gone into the pockets of some people," he claimed.

The project was meant to supply the 47 counties with medical waste management treatment equipment on a pilot basis.

Wandayi, who was speaking to the media in his Ugunja constituency, described the matter as 'scandalous'.

"We will be disclosing details of this scam as they come in the coming days. We are putting the National Treasury on notice that we will not allow it.

"Medical equipment, as we all know, has become a gravy train in recent years. We will fight this latest one. The country is going through a difficult time, but Kenya Kwanza government officials are having the best time of their lives," he said.

The MP warned President William Ruto that Azimio would act to ease Kenyans' suffering.

"All this corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and policies are meant to deliberately impoverish Kenyans. We are going to give Kenya Kwanza an extremely difficult time about them in the new year," he said.

Wandayi said Kenyans were going through difficult times because of the policies the government had put in place that made life expensive for all.

"It is a difficult time because taxes have gone through the roof and big corruption is back with us in a major way. We have seen the G to G oil deal that was made to scam Kenyans. We have seen the import of oil, maize and rice that were made to lower the cost of living but now a scam. The planned sale of parastatals is a scam in the making, only that we will oppose," he said.