Stern action will be taken against rogue contractors who abandon taxpayer funded projects after receiving down payments.
Nakuru County Commissioner Erastus Mbui Mwenda has affirmed that investigative agencies will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute individuals involved in such malpractices.
Speaking when he led members of the County Development Implementation Coordination Committee (CDICC) on an inspection tour of government funded roads and learning institutions, Mwenda also ruled out extending deadlines for contractors in charge of development projects in Nakuru.
The administrator directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to probe a contractor awarded tender to tarmac the Kiambiriria- Chepsir Road in December last year, who despite being paid Sh110 million had not moved to site.
”Let uncooperative and ineffective contractors be forewarned. Their days are numbered and we will not tolerate them,” said Mwenda.
“Every work should begin and be completed within the stipulated time and meet the set guidelines. There will be no further engagements with lazy contractors as the government is only keen on timely and proper completion of projects, he said, adding this will go a long way in helping the realisation of growth of the intended objectives,” he said.
Mwenda expressed outrage that the contractor was playing hide and seek games with monitoring and assessment teams after he failed to mobilise equipment and workforce to kick off the project.
“He has no justification as to why work has not started. The contractor has violated guidelines by failing to attend all meetings convened by the management committee of this road construction project. He has not shared the work programme and list of equipment with relevant state agencies,” the County Commissioner noted.
The over Sh1.4 billion project was scheduled to kick off in December last year and be completed within 36 months.
Mwenda stated that it was incumbent upon contractors working on projects funded by the taxpayer to utilise their time well to ensure the projects don’t lag behind adding that the government was determined to weed out rogue contractors.
“Those who refuse to comply with regulations of the tender they had won will lose their contracts. We have ruled out any further monkey business in all exchequer-funded projects. It will not be well for any contractor who causes unnecessary delays,” he warned.
By Anne Mwale
