• The report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu shows that while the county government has spent the cash on the project, ‘minimal’ work has been done.
• The project was to run for 12 months but was not completed within the agreed timeline.
Image: SHABAN OMAR
Residents of Kwale risk losing in excess of Sh105.12 million in the stalled construction of Governor Salim Mvurya’s official residence, an audit report shows.
The report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu shows that while the county government has spent the cash on the project, ‘minimal’ work has been done.
The report reveals that the county could have lost more than Sh35 million in payments made to work that was never done or items that were never delivered.
The 2019-20 financial audit report shows that the county government awarded the contract for the construction of the governor’s residence in the 2017-18 financial year. The project was to run for 12 months.
However, the construction was not completed within the agreed timeline, forcing the parties to extend the period by four months – to end in August 2019.
“Site inspection in November 2020 revealed that the contractor was not on site, with minimal work having been done between October 2019 and November 2020,” the report states.
It says the county had spent Sh105.12 million towards the construction of the governor’s residence as at June 30, 2020.
“Consequently, the value for money has not been realised on the project which is likely to incur more costs due to the delays in the completion,” Gathungu says.
The auditor also flagged a high number of stalled projects.
It shows the county had initiated 522 development projects worth Sh3.58 billion as at June 30, 2020.
Out of that number, 11 have stalled.
Some 145 projects, representing 28 per cent of the total projects, had not started, with 154 others ongoing.
Some 265 projects have been completed. However, the auditor's inspection revealed substandard work in some projects.
At the 18-bed capacity hostel at Ukunda youth polytechnic, roofs were leaking and ceilings stained.
Roads such as Mwangoni-Kisimani-Ndauni and the Vitsangalaweni-Kwa Masai Road were impassible due to poor drainage.
“This is an indication of poor project planning and management of project implementation which is likely to affect service delivery to the residents of Kwale,” Gathungu says in the report.
“Consequently, value for money may not have been realised from the projects that were ongoing and those that had stalled,” she adds.
Gathungu reveals that taxpayers could have lost Sh12.38 million in the tarmacking of Kona Musa Mabokoni-Kona ya Maasai Road.
According to the report, the bill of quantities of the project included engineer’s office equipment with furniture fittings and two utility vehicles at a cost of Sh12.38 million, which were to be procured at the beginning of the project.
However, during an inspection by the auditors in November 2020, the engineer’s office had not been constructed and the motor vehicles for the project had not been procured.
“Consequently, value for money has not been realised in the implementation of the projects,” Gathungu says.
In addition, BQs for the tarmacking of Kona ya Jadini-Lofta Resort Road included the construction of engineer’s site office with furniture at a cost of Sh2.17 million.
However, inspections showed that the office had not been built by November 2020.
In yet another expenditure that could have sunk the public money, Kwale executive paid a supplier Sh5.55 million – full payment – for ICT networking and communication equipment even before the equipment was delivered and installed.
“Further, management did not provide evidence of testing for the performance of the equipment as per tender specifications,” the report reads.