Auditor General Edward Ouko has questioned payments made to garbage collectors amounting to Sh200 million for services not rendered.
The query is raised in the Auditor Report on the Financial Operations of the Nairobi City County Government 2016-17.
For instance, on July 18, 2016, a truck KBT 006S belonging to Puka Investment was weighed twice in four minutes at the Dandora weighbridge and the company was paid Sh7.1 million.
“The first delivery had 11.7 tonnes at 1.08am and the second delivery had 13.65 tonnes at 1.12am on July 18, 2016,” the report reads.
The auditor said it was not possible for the truck to be emptied and refilled within four minutes, thus, the county may have paid for false machine hours claim by the firm.
The county weighs trucks depositing garbage in Dandora to determine the quantity they carry for payments.
Another company, Creative Consolidated Systems, was paid Sh10.3 million for ‘questionable’ claims on its machines working hours.
The firm was contracted to sweep the streets, empty litter bins, collect garbage and deposit the waste in Dandora. It was paid for the hours put in.
The company said its machines worked for more than 23 hours a day. On April 16, 2017, the firm claimed that one of its machines worked for 29 hours.
“It was noted that backhoe registration number KHMA 421EE had on the meter time sheet indicated the machine operated for 29 hours on April 16, 2017, which was not possible,” the report reads.
garbage heaps
The report said in some instances, the company claimed that its machines operated for 23 hours per day nonstop for a month. The company was paid for the hours claimed.
The auditor said it is not possible for machines to work for more than 23 hours nonstop, taking into account equipment repairs and maintenance schedules.
The report said City Hall also paid Sh184.5 million to 19 firms for ‘collecting garbage’ in zones in which they were not pre-qualified to operate.
“Consequently, payments amounting to Sh184,563,784 were made contrary to the binding contracts,” the report states. In 2015, City Hall divided Nairobi into 17 zones (subcounties) for effective garbage collection. Each zone is allocated specific contractors for accountability purposes.
In January, Governor Mike Sonko said waste management will be handled by youth at the estate and ward levels.
Last month the Environment committe blamed City Hall for heaps of uncollected trash in estates and slums.