A contractor has been ordered to redo a Sh70 million irrigation project in Machakos after it was declared shoddy and against the specified bill of quantities.
Unibee Construction Company Limited was contracted by the National Irrigation Board (NIB) in 2015 to excavate a dam in Mukengesya, Matungulu subcounty, fit it with intake works, auxiliary structures, put up a pump house, pipe and construct 10 greenhouses.
The works were to end by May 2016. And even though more than Sh64 million has been paid to the company, the community rejected it, blaming the firm for substandard work.
During a site visit on Tuesday, members of the Machakos County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee found that only two small dilapidated greenhouses had been built. The team was led by county commissioner Esther Maina.
Maina sought to assure residents that contractor will have to repair the dam, provide proper greenhouses, train residents on crop irrigation and improve a pump house in the next three months to facilitate a handover to the local community.
“As it is, this project is not helping the locals at all, and it is a huge let-down. It is clear that public funds were not utilised properly here,” she said.
Rusty pipes were strewn all over while maize was growing alongside tomatoes in one of the neglected houses. In the other greenhouse lay a few dusty drip-irrigation pipes. One side of the earth walls of the fast-silting dam had obvious signs of seepage while the pump house was also dysfunctional.
Besides, one side of the perimeter wall had collapsed, thus allowing livestock unhindered access to the dam. It was also noted that the unsecured dam posed a great danger to children who could drown while attempting to swim in it.
Irate residents accused the contractor of failing to involve them. Through their chairman, Charles Nganga, they said the project had not served them as intended.
They questioned why the polythene used in the greenhouses got torn only a few months after installation, yet those belonging to residents had been serving them for over five years.
“This project was shoddily done and substandard materials were used. We want that contractor to come back and do the works as per the Bill of Quantities. He has been pushing us to take it over but we fear it is incomplete,” Nicholas Mutungi, a village elder, said.
Sophie Musembi, a former Maendeleo ya Wananwake leader, expressed disappointment at the shoddy way the project was executed.
“Initially, we were excited, but after this, we are very disappointed,” she said, pleading with the government to ensure all projects are closely supervised.
Maina said the government urged residents to accept the project once it is repaired. “We will follow this matter up and once it is properly concluded, we will come back here and hand it over to you,” she said.
Two engineers from the NIB had a difficult time trying to explain to the committee why the project had not been handed over to the residents and why it had been forsaken.
“Though the initial proposal was to have 10 greenhouses, the contractor had to provide only two after he used money meant for the others to dredge the rocky soils which had not been anticipated,” Eng. Willy Katembo said.
Engineer Patrick Njiru, who is in charge of the Upper Eastern and had overseen part of the implementation, said the contractor will have to come back to reconstruct the water system, provide seedlings, train the locals and repair the Greenhouses within the next three months.
He was, however, instructed to submit a progress report to the committee every two weeks.
Also accompanying the CDICC was Matungulu deputy county commissioner Abbas Mohammed, his Kangundo counterpart Albert Kimathi and the Presidential Delivery Unit regional coordinator Larry Mulomi.
The team also toured the Kangundo Level 4 Hospital to assess the use of advanced medical equipment given to county hospitals by the national government.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
