Simon Chelugui, the Cabinet Secretary nominee for Co-operatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development, declared his net worth at Ksh993 million.
While appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments on Saturday, October 22, Chelugui attributed his wealth to a dairy plant and rental houses he owns.
This was after Speaker Moses Weangula congratulated him for being the only CS retained from ex-president, Uhuru Kenyatta's administration. He served as CS Water then transferred to Labour before Ruto nominated him to lead the Co-operatives docket.
"I have a dairy plant, residential home, and rental houses in Nairobi. All these amounts to Ksh993 million," Chelugui stated.
However, Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wah faulted the declaration arguing that the calculations from the provided documents did not add up.
"I was trying to cumulate what you have tabulated here and it adds up to about Ksh652 million," Ichung'wah questioned.
Additionally, Ichung'wa argued that the nominee declared a Ksh796 million net worth in 2018 when he was vetted under Uhuru Kenyatta's regime. He thus sought clarification on the discrepancy.
Nonetheless, Chelugui defended his current valuation citing his pay slip which he stated contributed approximately Ksh200 million to his net worth.
He also underlined that his parcels of land appreciated over the years.
The CS, thereafter, recounted his first business venture after graduating from the University of Nairobi (UoN) while narrating the story of his life.
"I partnered with a friend and bought coffee machinery in Bamburi before selling it after two years. I later proceeded to service and manage coffee plants before the trade deteriorated.
"I am confident of managing co-operatives in the country in the bottom-up model as the trickle-down has never worked. It was once said that we are creating a country of 10 millionaires and one million broke citizens. That narrative has to change," Chelugui convinced the Wetangula-led committee.
