Massive and endless looting at Weru Technical and Vocational Training College has remained the order of the day even as the institution grapples with funding challenges.
The technical institution is losing millions through irregular tender awards orchestrated by the Principal Abednego Mulu who is the face of a deadly web of cartel that is fleecing technical institutions in the coast region.
Pulling the strings from behind is Regional Director for TVETS Peter Mwangi and the chairman of the college James Matole Tuva.
A case in point is the award of tender number WTVC/ BW/01/2023/2024 for extension of classrooms.
The tender was worth Sh 3,574,012 million.It was awarded to Tatawe Investment Company Limited which is associated with close allies of the principal and has been involved in several other controversial dealings with County Governments and other Government agencies.
The principal and his cartel are believed to have bagged over Sh1.4 million as kickbacks from the tender with only one class having been extended.
The institution is still battling with shortage of enough classes against the increasing number of students enrolling for various courses.
The principal is also believed to have orchestrated loss of millions of shillings meant for construction of a modern training workshop.
This was done with the help of procurement department that has officers with questionable capacity to run procurement affairs in public service.
The procurement department single sourced the contractor whom documents indicate was paid Ksh 1.9 million even before the completion of the work.
Several questions have been raised on how the documents were signed and requested for payments instead by the principal himself. This was seen as a plot by the principal to avoid being linked to suspected fraudulent payments yet he was fully behind the idea.
The project caused a lot of confusion given a donor had already offered an assistance of ksh.200million worth of machinery to be used in the said workshop.
There was no public advertisement for the tender and the same was never published on the institution’s website for online users with the principal fiercely determined to rush through the process and quickly request for payments.
By the time activities had commenced, the contract agreements had not been uploaded in the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority ( PPRA) website.
The principal has made it a norm to be at the centre of every tender including supply of learning material for most of the technical courses like automotive engineering and civil engineering.
His family members and friends are believed to be close associates in his dirty dealings.
In Kenya,Technical and Vocational Education Training, TVET, institutions offer various certificate, diploma and craftsmanship training to students.
The performance of Weru has dwindled in the last few years with some students said to be dropping out or opting for other institutions where there is quality and serious teaching.
TVETs are registered, accredited and regulated by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA); which is a public corporate agency established under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Act No. 29 of 2013 to regulate and coordinate training in the country through licensing, registration and accreditation of programs, institutions and trainers.
Section 7 of the Act, 2013 gives the powers and functions of the Authority to regulate and coordinate training; inspect, license and register and accredit training institutions; accredit and inspect programmes and courses; promote access and relevance of training programmes; determine the national technical and vocational training objectives.
It also has the mandate to assure quality and relevance in programmes of training among other functions.
An Education activist is now calling on the regulator to reign in on the Weru Principal and conduct serious inspections to authenticate works sponsored by the government at the institution.
At Weru, the principal has also been spot for failing to help his students to access funding from the Higher Education Loans Board, HELB.
TVET students in Kenya can now get Loans and Bursaries from HELB for their fees payment and upkeep.
Some of the courses at Weru include Artisan in Automotive engineering, Certificate in Automotive engineering, Diploma in Automotive engineering, artisan in store keeping, Certificate in Business management and Certificate in Human resource Management.
Others are Artisan in building masonry, Artisan in plumbing, Certificate in building construction technology, Diploma in Building technology among many others.
Back to the controversy around the principal and his love for quick money, some of the board members at the institution have separately raised discontent with his decision.
It is believed that some of the board members have signalled the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission over the rampant looting through fake and manipulated tenders.