Sports Kenya has threatened to push for the cancellation of tender for the contractor working on Sh280 million Ruring’u Stadium in Nyeri County that has already overrun its completion period.
Director Sports Kenya Mwangi Muthee expressed concern over the capacity of the contractor, Funan Construction Company Ltd, to complete the stadium whose construction commenced in 2017 and was due for completion by July 30 this year.
The contractor had sought for a two-month extension period after failing to meet the July deadline and made an undertaking of delivering the stadium by the end of September.
However, nothing much is happening on the ground towards meeting the deadline with workers already having laid down tools over nonpayment of their dues for over one month.
“I would like to be very categorical that we are not happy with the progress and we feel that the contractor has no capacity to deliver this stadium at the stipulated time,” the director said.
Speaking Monday after an inspection tour of the stadium alongside the County Development Implementation Coordination Committee (CDICC) team led by County Commissioner Loyford Kibaara, Muthee said they were contemplating cancelling the tender though due process has to be followed.
“It is now upon the contractor to prove that he should retain the tender,” asserted the Director, adding that the feeling of many in his team was that they were wasting time with him.
Over allegations by the contractor that the delay was occasioned by nonpayment of his dues for work done, Muthee said they do not owe the contractor any money.
“We are ahead in terms of payment but the contractor seems to have terminated his contractual obligations of being on site and paying his workers,” said Muthee.
The County Commissioner wondered why the contractor was not on site nor paid his workers yet he had been advanced Sh20 million for mobilization at the commencement of the project.
The CC who is the CDICC chair in the county directed engineers from Public Works in the programme to quantify the amount and scope of work done by the contractor with a view of finding a lasting solution.
“Before the end of the month, the team will be properly advised and come up with ways of delivering the project as envisaged,” said the CC.
Some of the workers interviewed said they had been forced to abandon work until their dues were settled and called on the government to intervene.
“We have rent arrears and are unable to even meet our daily needs because of delayed salaries,” said one of the labourers, Stephen Maina.
By Samuel Waititu
