• In the 2018-2019 financial year budget, the county allocated Sh4 million for the furnishing of the Amphitheatre and Sh1.5 million for landscaping.
• It, however, emerged the county is yet to pay the contractor for the project to be handed over.
A project started by the national government before the onset of devolution and handed over to Kilifi county is yet to be completed.
The multimillion Chonyi Amphitheatre and Cultural Centre was handed over to Kilifi for completion and operationalisation in 2015.
Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga said the Amphitheatre is important in adding value to the Chonyi community through marketing their culture and traditions.
“We have several Chonyi artifacts that are getting lost. Such artifacts would now be in safe custody here. When most people hear of the Mijikenda, they only think of the Giriama and the Digo. This project would be a good learning institution for the young generation, who do not understand the Chonyi culture,” Chonga said.
The MP said the county will waste a lot of money if it fails to operationalise the facility.
“There are several budgets that have been read since this project stalled. The county government should remember it and equip it so that it can benefit the community,” he said
In the 2018-2019 financial year budget, the county allocated Sh4 million for the furnishing of the Amphitheatre and Sh1.5 million for landscaping.
On May 15, last year, the Gender and Social Services department re-advertised a tender for furnishing the Amphitheatre.
Former Mwarakaya MCA Silas Chitibwi questioned why the project is yet to be completed more than three years since it was handed over to the county.
“When the project was handed to us, we were to develop a strategic plan and come up with a board or a management committee to run the facility. The structure is complete but it has not been furnished and equipped,” Chitibwi said.
He noted that the county government had allocated Sh26 million to complete and equip it.
According to the plan, the Amphitheatre was to host a performing theatre hall, an audio recording studio, a museum component to preserve Chonyi artifacts and a library where their culture would be documented and preserved.
“The main goal was to be a cultural and tourist attraction centre... Eventually there was going to be component of a museum here. The construction is complete and what pending is furniture equipment wand installation of audiovisual equipment. I may not be able to shed light on what happened,” Chitibwi said.
The former ward rep said the importance of the facility should not be underrated.
“One may underrate the importance but what we recognize is we have not recorded the Chonyi culture and history. We have not recorded anything about Chonyi. It is all in people’s memory."
"The Chonyi language is disappearing. I am sure there are Chonyis here who may not understand the real Chonyi language. The management committee was to develop a tour circuit that included this structure so that other businesses could develop within Chonyi. We may be late but still can achieve it,” Chitibwi added.
It, however, emerged the county is yet to pay the contractor for the project to be handed over.
Gender and Social Services executive Maureen Mwangovya, however, said the project has not been put to use because it has not been handed over to the county government.
“We are yet to pay the contract so that we can have the facility. I will call you soon and give you the correct position once we pay the contractor,” Mwangovya said.
Many doors are already damaged.