Najib Balala Summoned: Tourism Cabinet secretary Najib Balala has been summoned over a controversial Sh. 100 million tender. Mr. Balala was summoned on Friday by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for awarding the multi-million contract to the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) Kenya. ASTA won the tender to host the 2017 Destination Expo Conference.
The contract was for hosting various expos under a programme to aid in the recovery of the Tourism docket whose performance had been struggling. According to those involved in the investigations, the firm was not among those pre-qualified during the contract period and neither did the department have a budget for the year.
Mr. Balala has been given until Monday to present himself to the EACC. He responded to the matter via Twitter where he said that “[the] EACC inquiry on the American Society of Travel Agents Expo that took place at KICC in Feb 2017, organised by ASTA Kenya chapter, has been an ongoing process … the Ministry of Tourism has fully cooperated since the start of the inquiry.”
Earlier on Friday, the Standard newspaper had reported that detectives had raided the minister’s Nairobi office and his homes in Nairobi, Vipingo in Kilifi, and Mombasa where crucial documents were recovered.
“The detectives are said to have secretly mounted the operation after obtaining search warrants following intelligence reports that the company is allegedly a conduit for State officers to siphon public funds,” the Standard reported.