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Samburu Camel Derby organisers accused of misusing funds

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The organisers of the Samburu Camel Derby have been accused of  mismanaging  millions of shillings meant for the popular sporting event.  The three-day event that is held every August, is said to have had a budget of over Ksh15 million set aside by Samburu County Treasury.

“There are about five committees that presented their budget: tourism, hospitality, sports, culture and ground committee that was set to allocate tents and space for business people during the Camel Derby,” said a revenue collection officer who did not want his name mentioned.

According to Samburu county government sources, about Ksh4m was set aside for live television coverage which did not take place. The Samburu County Investors Forum Chairman,  Joe Mithamo, accused the county government revenue collection department of heavily taxing businesses during the event.

Charging young businessmen Ksh27, 000 is not fair at all,” he said. “Even their businesses didn’t make that profit.”

Samburu County director of sports Mr Mathew Lesiyambe said that his committee was given Ksh1.8 million, which he insisted was spent well.  “The cash given was meant for sportsmen who were competing. The winners were rewarded. I don’t know what other committees did with their funds. I only deal with sports.”

Samburu County government insiders say the highest amount, about Ksh6.2 million, was allocated to the committee that was dealing with hospitality to pay the people who participated in traditional dances and for entertainment of top county officials. 

‘The problem with Maralal Camel Derby is that its never organised well. Other counties are marketing their traditional events well. A good example is Turkana traditional festival; Samburu County should be doing the same but corruption is messing things up here,” says John Lenkulate, Samburu political activist.

The chief officer in the department of tourism, Ms Lydia Letinina, could not answer calls and texts from Business Today, while the county’s director of communication, Mr Thomas Lekesike, did not give the government response on the allegation raised .
The partners during the event like Kenya Commercial Bank, Kenya Tourism Board, Tourism Fund and Kerio Valley Development Authority were not also happy on the way the event was organised this year.

Its not the first time Samburu County government officials are being accused of misusing public funds. In its 2013 report, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission ranked the county as the second most corrupt in Kenya after Uasin Gishu.

The Auditor General has in the recent past also poked holes in the expenditure of public funds in the vast semi-arid region. Anomalies such as failure to adhere to procurement laws, breach of Public Finance Management Act, disparities in revenue collection and the amount taken to banks and abuse of office by Samburu County executives and assembly are cited in his reports tabled in the Senate by the Public Accounts and Investment Committee.

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FRANCIS MULI
FRANCIS MULIhttp://www.businesstoday.co.ke
Editor and writer, Francis Muli has a passion for human interest stories. He holds a BSc in Communication and Journalism from Moi University and has worked for various organisations including Kenya Television Service. Email:[email protected]
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