Tkatchenko orders firing over payment allegation

National

By HELEN TARAWA
Lands and Physical Planning Minister Justin Tkatchenko has issued instructions for the termination of a senior officer in the department for alleged financial mismanagement.
Tkatchenko told The National yesterday that the direction for termination was based on information received regarding claims of a scam within the department’s finance section.
He said information published in social media alleged that a certain senior female officer had made payments of K135,000 to a company owned by her husband.
“We verified the information we got through social media and confirmed the scam,” Tkatchenko said.
“I have given directions for the officer’s termination on Wednesday.
“This is the beginning of uncovering many such corrupt deals within the department involving officers, which we are cleaning out.
“The fraud and complaints unit is there for such cases as this.
“We urge the public to come forward and report any information on land issues involving officers of this department.”
According to information the department received from PNGI, a new governance watchdog, payments totalling K135,000 were made in the first six months of this year to the company.
PNGI also received what it claims to be a printout from the department’s accounting system that appears to confirm the dates and amounts paid to the company and a reference number for each transaction.
Tkatchenko said upon receiving all this information, the department carried out its own internal investigations.