Questions Raised as Kilifi Contractor is Paid Ksh11M for Shoddy Work

Ongoing works at Magarini TTI

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has been asked to probe how Ksh11 million was paid to a contractor who worked on the proposed Magarini Technical Training Institute, yet his entire works were deemed substandard and his contract cancelled.

The tender for the project had been awarded to M/S Kah Contractors but due to poor workmanship, the contract was withdrawn and awarded to another contractor who demolished the entire works.

“By that time, the contractor had already been paid Ksh11 million out of a total contract sum of Ksh54 million,” Kilifi County Director of Technical and Vocational Training Ndegwa Mwanyoha told the Kilifi County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee (CDICC).

A section of Magarini TTI under construction

Kilifi Commissioner, Magu Mutindika, termed the irregular payment as a big loss to the county, vowing to get to the bottom of the brewing corruption scandal.

“We want to know the engineer who supervised the works, the officer who authorised the payments and any other person involved in this matter because we cannot allow government funds to go to waste is such a manner,” Mutindika said.

Of concern to Mutindika also is the fact that the Training Institute is being constructed in a remote area lacking access to resources such as water and electricity.

Kilifi County Commissioner (in blue shirt) Magu Mutindika at the site of the scandal hit TTI

“Why is this project being undertaken in such a remote area without water and electricity? Where will the institute get students from?” he wondered.

He further questioned the project’s social viability, speculating that adequate public participation sessions were not carried out prior to implementation.

Mwanyoho noted that the government had already spent Ksh7.75 million under the new contract which was awarded to M/S Mahuran Investments Company in August 2018.

He further explained that completion of the project might exceed the set 52 weeks as the new contractor spent a significant amount of time demolishing slabs and columns constructed by M/S Kah.

The project, which under the new contract is worth Ksh57 million, was initially under the mentorship of Kenya Coast National Polytechnic but was taken over by Godoma Technical Training Institute wich intitiated the initial tender cancellation and re-advertisement.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *