The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Social Services Administration and Agriculture, chaired by Navakholo MP Hon. Emanuel Wangwe, held a tense meeting today with Dr. Wilson Tonui, Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC), who appeared alongside the Corporation’s Chairman, Dr. Abdillahi Alawy.
The committee expressed serious concerns regarding the financial performance of the ADC, highlighting a staggering loss of Kshs. 144 million for the financial year 2009/2010, which compounded the Corporation’s accumulated losses to a total of Kshs. 327 million as of March 31, 2010. The losses were primarily blamed on adverse weather conditions, soaring input costs, and administrative expenses.
Dr. Tonui defended the Corporation’s efforts to mitigate these challenges, stating, “We have restructured our banking facilities in collaboration with KCB to reduce interest burdens, and the government has been assisting through subsidized fertilizers to improve profitability.”
However, the committee remained unsatisfied, particularly questioning the ADC’s handling of a Kshs. 24 million loss linked to fake bank deposit slips in fertilizer sales at Eldoret. Hon. Wangwe expressed his frustration, sharply criticizing Dr. Tonui’s leadership: “You are not a serious CEO. You’ve been in office since 2010, and this is how you respond? It’s a big shame.”
Hon. Owino added, “Imagine being a Kenyan taxpayer hearing this. The CEO of a Corporation where public funds were lost cannot even provide satisfactory answers to audit queries.”
Dr. Tonui pushed back against the criticism, arguing that the committee was being unfair, but acknowledged, “We cannot take responsibility for other people’s mistakes, but we acknowledge that our responses need to be more thorough.”
The exchange underscored growing tensions over the Corporation’s management of public resources, with committee members demanding greater accountability and transparency moving forward.
