Man At the Centre Of Scandals East African Standard 28 June 2004 Page: 1
The consultant named in the Sh2.7 billion Anglo Leasing Finance Company’s passport scandal and the Sh4.2 billion forensic kit project, Dr Merlyn Kettering, also featured in a controversial multi-million computerisation project at the Kenya Airports Authority.Dr Kettering was the lead consultant in the project abruptly stopped by KAA MD George Muhoho mid-last year because even after Sh256 million had been paid out, all but one of the four phases were incomplete.
Dr Kettering who is now said to been involved in the Sh4 billion-laboratory project at the Office of the President was contracted by KAA through Dyntech International, a company based in Liverpool, UK.
"The new management felt it was pouring money into a bottomless pit, the project continued to guzzle a lot of money and it became unrealistic to pursue it,’’ revealed a source at KAA.
To date, the prospect of having all the operations at Kenya’s airports linked through a state-of-the-art computerisation programme is yet to come to fruition. Last year, Muhoho promised investigations into the matter, whose outcome is yet to be made public.Dr Kettering has lived in Kenya and his association with the Government is extensive. Previously, he has also worked with the Finance ministry through Thunder & Associates, Inc of Alexandria, Virginia.
His address in the KAA contractual agreements is shown as: Dyntech International, Fullwood Park, Liverpool. The physical address on the records is LIT 5 A, UK.
According to a source privy to the contract, Dr Kettering firm was working with Kamson International, the company also linked to the passport scandal and the forensic lab0ratory project for the CID.A business card Dr Kettering gave a friend between 1997 and 1998 when the project was taking off showed he was a management consultant development advisor.
The address he gave on the card was: Gailey and Roberts Building, Room 104, Witu Road, off Lusaka Road. But though he has since vacated the office the e-mail address and the telephone numbers listed are no longer operational.
The project involved installing Macola, computer software sourced from South Africa. It was to be integrated with Ammslite software – an aircraft movement tracking system, which has the capacity to prepare billing as well.The areas that were waiting to be computerized when it was called off were: engineering, security, administration and personnel, as well as fire and rescue.
In the recently uncovered passport scam, a senior Office of the President bureaucrat, Mr J F A Agili was the link person with Dr Kettering.When the Government engaged Anglo Leasing in the laboratory project, the immediate former PS in charge of Provincial Administration and National Security, Mr Zakayo Cheruiyot, signed the contract on behalf of the Government.
Mrs Lucia Katnaolunk signed on behalf of Forensics Laboratory Limited, a consulting firm while former Treasury PS Mwaghazi Mwachofi signed for the Finance and Colin Flynn for Anglo Leasing.Dr Kettering was Anglo Leasing’s consultant in the deal. He at one time sought a meeting with the Chief Architech Philip Sika to review the preliminary design and drawings prepared for the building that would house the forensics laboratories and associated offices.
He asked that authority be given for access and turnover of the site so their work could begin, starting with survey and soil testing."By a copy of this letter, we notify the Office of the President and request the assignment of Government technical staff to the project so works can proceed in a timely manner," he said in a letter dated March 31, 2003.
Kettering went on to say that there was a technical consensus that the planned project buildings could not be built on the plots as shown on the survey plan.
Dr Kettering is the Management Consultant and Development Advisor on behalf of the Church of the Brethren for the New Sudan Council of Churches, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Upon joining the Church of the Brethren, he was described thus; "Merlyn brings numerous years of experience in Economic and Social Development as well as Financial Management and Consulting to this position.