The National Government lost Sh.11 million in shoddy work done on the proposed Magarini Technical Training Institute (TTI) in, Kilifi County.
Consequently, the County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee (CDICC) has asked the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate how money was paid for work that had to be done afresh.
“This is a big scandal and we must get to the bottom of it,” Kilifi County Commissioner Magu Mutindika, who chairs the CDICC, said. “That is why we want the DCI to come in and carry out investigations with a view to prosecuting those who caused this loss.”
Committee members had toured the project, also known as Waresa TTC and which is situated about one kilometre from Mizijini Primary School in Magarini Sub County, where they were told the entire work that cost Sh11 million was demolished by a new contractor after the first contract was cancelled.
“We want to know the engineer who supervised the works, the officer who authorized the payments and any other person involved in this matter because we cannot allow government funds to go to waste is such a manner,” Mr. Mutindika said.
The County Commissioner took issue with the fact that the project was being implemented in a remote area that does not have basic amenities such as water and electricity.
He said the institute’s remoteness could also discourage students from enrolling for courses, noting that the project implementation committee may not have carried out adequate public participation sessions to ascertain its viability.
“Why is this project being undertaken in such a remote area without water and electricity? Where will the institute get students from?” he posed.
Locals however told him that there the area is served by the Kadzandani multi-purpose borehole and that electricity was just about one kilometre away from the project site.
Kilifi County Director of Technical and Vocational Training, Mr. Ndegwa Mwanyoha told the committee that the project tender was initially awarded to M/S Kah Contractors, who did the work up to the foundation slab level, but the contract was terminated on account of poor workmanship.
“By that time, the contractor had already been paid Sh11 million out of a total contract sum of Sh54 million,” Mr. Mwanyoha told the committee.
He said the new contract worth Sh 57 million was awarded to M/S Mahuran Investments Company in August 2018 and that the government had already spent Sh7.75 million for the works that have already been done.
He said the new contractor was then asked to demolish all the work the previous contractor had done, which included the foundation slab and columns, and started the work afresh, something that delayed the project further.
Mr. Mwanyoha said project began under the mentorship of the Kenya Coast National Polytechnic in Mombasa before it was taken over by Godoma Technical Training Institute who cancelled the tender and re-advertised it after noticing anomalies in the works.
The current contractor, Mahuran Investments, took over the project in August 2018 and is expected to complete it in 52 weeks, although there was a delay in commencing the works as the new contractor was forced to completely demolish the initial works and start afresh.
Mahuran suspended work one month ago due to delays in payments for the project, which is being funded by the National Government.
By Emmanuel Masha
