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Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has called out a section of the County contractors over what he calls harassment of the staff concerning payments.

In a statement dated June 5, 2024, Governor Nyong’o urged the aggrieved contractors to use civil means when following up on their payments with the County treasury.

“These individuals have not only used foul language but also issued threats against our staff.
I urge all contractors doing business with the County to conduct themselves maturely and with decorum while visiting our offices,” Nyongo stated.

The governor also observed that some of the contractors had resorted to mob psychology, bullying staff and demanding payments without following proper procedures.

“While we acknowledge that we owe money to some of our suppliers, this does not give anyone the license to flout procedures and cause tension in public offices,” Nyong’o remarked.

Deregister contractors

The Kisumu governor further stated that he will take decisive action on the individual contractors should they continue with their behaviour even as the County makes arrangements to clear all pending bills.

The governor also called out what he termed ‘mob psychology’ among the aggrieved contractors, urging them to use laid down procedures to seek redress.

“Any individual who intimidates county staff for selfish ends risks being de-registered as a contractor,” the Governor warned.

In 2021, Kisumu County contractors threatened to rope in the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) as they claimed that the County government was awarding contracts to staff and expediting their payments at the expense of other regular contractors.

Through their chairman Maurice Aloo, the contractors said that they were threatened by the County staff whenever they pushed for their payments.

“Majority of our competitors in this contracting field are the county staff who make sure our files are not paid while they prioritise theirs, which is very wrong,” Aloo noted then.

The Governor’s office would later dismiss Aloo’s statements as speculations and rumours, saying that the County was processing payments in line with the established financial management procedures.

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