The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised concerns over the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission's (EACC) payment of over Kshs. 1.5 billion for the acquisition of the Integrity Centre Building in Nairobi without the documents from the seller.

During a session chaired by Hon. Wilberforce Oundo (Funyula), the EACC  Chief Executive Officer (CEO)  Mr. Twalib Mbarak was questioned at length over the payment of Ksh. 1,518,00,000 for the Building,  despite the seller's failure to provide crucial documents.

Mr. Mbarak was summoned to respond to audit queries from the audited financial books for the Financial Year 2020/2021.

"The Auditor General noted that the Commission paid Ksh1,518,000,000 to the National Lands Commission for compulsory acquisition of the Integrity Centre. However, a letter from the State Department for Public Works valid ownership documents were not availed," part of the report read.

Furthermore, the report presented to the Committee revealed that the development plans submitted by the National Lands Commission (NLC) to the EACC were rejected due to missing structural details, architectural drawings, and services drawings. The provided structural drawings had not been approved by the Nairobi County government as required. 

As a result, effective planning for essential electro-mechanical services, refurbishment, and redevelopment of the Centre were impeded.

The report also pointed out that it was impossible to determine whether the Commission obtained value for public funds used in the acquisition process of the Integrity Centre due to the lack of essential documentation.

In light of these findings, Hon. Jon Oundo questioned the urgency behind the Commission's decision to make payments for the project without obtaining the required documents as mandated by the law.

"The speed at which money was released for the projects without required documents being availed to the buyer is what has led to the audit query. Why were you in a hurry to acquire the building?" asked Hon. Oundo.

Hon. Nabii Nabwera (Lugari)  expressed disappointment over the involvement of a body responsible for fighting corruption and ensuring prudent use of public resources in questionable transactions.

In his response Mr. Mbarak defended the Commission, asserting that no money was lost in the acquisition of the building adding that 

all the necessary documents were eventually received by the Commission on April 26, 2022, and forwarded to the Public Works department for authentication.

"The Department confirmed that the building was adequately designed and supervised by competent structural engineers who advised the Commission to settle the outstanding balance which it did," Mr. Mbarak clarified.