Deputy Chief of Staff Eliud Owalo has revealed that President William Ruto and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei have launched a crackdown on officials secretly running government projects through their private companies.
In an interview with NTV on Thursday, September 11, Owalo confirmed that the president has made it clear: any government official found engaging in such practices will be dismissed and face legal action.
He explained that collusion between officials and contractors after tenders are awarded is one of the main reasons government projects stall or face long delays.
“Those in government who want to do business, get out in the private sector and do business from there because we will not allow conflict of interest where you are government but you are also doing business with the government at the same time, which is leading to stalling of some of these projects,” Owalo said.
Owalo added that both President Ruto and Felix Koskei had instructed him to deliver a clear message: any government official caught unlawfully accessing public funds through their position will be forced to step down and face prosecution.
He stressed that, despite resistance, the government remains determined to roll out advanced reforms, including the digitization of procurement, to eliminate corruption.
“I accepted that some of the pitfalls that we are facing in the delivery of government projects are because there are individuals in government who are conniving with these contractors, and this is why we are going to e-procurement, and you can see the cartels challenging back; they don’t want to go to digital,” Owalo said.
His remarks came just a week after President Ruto publicly challenged leaders opposed to the new e-procurement system to resign.
Speaking in Siaya on Sunday, August 31, Ruto declared that it would not be business as usual for officials resisting reforms like the migration to the Electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system, since they cannot align with his agenda.
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