• Auditor General Edward Ouko reports projects have stalled, yet in some cases, the contractors were fully paid.
• The hospital probe emerges as Ouko flagged a possible loss of Sh3.3 billion in unexplained variances in the county’s accounts and unverified pending bills.
Image: FILE
An ambitious hospital expansion by former Kitui Governor Julius Malombe has returned to haunt his successor Charity Ngilu over an Sh185 million audit query.
Auditor General Edward Ouko reported that a number of hospital projects have stalled, yet in some cases, the contractors were paid in full.
The hospital issue emerged as Ouko flagged a possible loss of Sh3.3 billion in unexplained variances in county accounts and unverified pending bills.
The report for 2017-18 lists projects at Kyangunga Dispensary, Mwingi Level 4 Hospital, Kitui Referral Hospital and Mutomo and Ikutha health centres.
Approved requisition, tender adverts — including specifications, tender opening minutes, bill of quantities and formal contract documents for the projects under scrutiny — were not made available for the audit.
At Kyangunga, a contractor was paid Sh9 million for renovation; he did not complete the work but abandoned the site.
At Mwingi Level 4 Hospital, Ouko queried the payment of Sh56 million to a contractor to put up a modern outpatient block for Sh59 million.
However, the building was yet to be completed 1,337 days after the agreed completion date. The agreement stipulated there would be penalties but there was no record of the contractor being charged.
“In the circumstances, the delayed completion has led to delayed benefits to the target beneficiaries and no value for money has been realised for the expenditure,” Ouko said.
The county may have also lost Sh4 million paid to a contractor to build a mortuary at the Level 4 hospital.
Ouko flagged irregularities in the contract as the procurement could not be traced in the budget or procurement plan.
Malombe’s administration did not provide tender documents to audit for the project, which has been abandoned.
At Kitui Referral Hospital, the auditor questioned the county’s payment of Sh23.7 million to a contractor for putting up an amenity ward. It was to be built for Sh144 million.
“A physical verification revealed the project had stalled almost at the slab level. The contractor was not on site and appeared not to have been there for some time," the auditor said.
Taxpayers may also have lost or gotten no value for Sh41 million in the construction of an outpatient block at the referral facility.
The project was initiated in February 2017 but is yet to be completed, 583 days after the expiration of the agreed contract timeline.
A verification revealed the project has stalled and the contractor has even demobilised operations. Some internal finishing including doors and tiling had not been done.
Another outpatient block at Mutomo in Kitui South subcounty is also under scrutiny after Sh4 million was paid to a contractor but work has stalled at the foundation level.
“The construction was just two courses above the ground and the floor slab had not been done at the time of the audit,” Ouko said.
Kitui may have also lost Sh5 million for putting up a theatre at Ikutha Health Centre, which was not in a usable state during the audit last October.
“The works were incomplete as drainage works, electrical works and other finishing had not been done. The building had developed cracks and the contractor had abandoned the site,” the report reads in part.
Ouko further criticised the current administration for paying Sh35 million to a contractor tasked to build a storeyed maternity ward at the facility. The completion of the stalled project is doubtful, the auditor said.