•The Senate Finance Committee toured Eldoret and grilled county officials after visiting the building and the county headquarters.
•Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno said the process of acquisition followed the due process in accordance with Public Procurement and Disposal Act.
Governor Jackson Mandago and his senior officers in Uasin Gishu have defended plans to purchase the National Bank building in Eldoret for Sh570 million.
The Senate Finance Committee toured Eldoret to probe the deal and grilled county officials.
Members of the committee led by senators Rose Nyamunga and Margaret Kamar inspected the building, whose purchase was opposed by some residents who argued that the cost is exaggerated and the purchase was not a priority.
County officials and representatives of the residents met with the Senate team. Nyamunga and Kamar said they would consider the views and give a verdict soon.
“We had a session with the governor virtually and he explained the purchase process and we have also met with members of the public opposed to the whole deal,” said Senator Nyamunga on Friday.
Although Mandago was not present during the tour by the by the senate team, Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno hosted the senators.
Chemno said the process of acquisition followed the due process in accordance with Public Procurement and Disposal Act.
“We have correspondences with PPRA, The Treasury has given us all the necessary approvals for the purchase,” Chemno said.
Nyamunga and her Uasin Gishu counterpart Margaret Kamar said they would find out if residents would get value for money.
County executive for Lands and Urban Planning Nelson Maritim explained to the committee how the county government has for the last seven years allocated money for expansion of office space to house government departments in one location.
The team was also shown various land parcels in town which would have been used for establishment of an ideal county headquarters but have since been grabbed with cases pending in court.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, Senator Nyamunga said her team would write a report on their findings. Kamar said the ceiling set for establishments of county headquarters was Sh500 million and wondered why Uasin Gishu County wanted to spend more.
Also present during the meeting were nominated Senator Millicent Omanga and farmers representative Kipkorir Menjo.
The EACC stopped the purchase three months ago after some residents and locals MPs claimed it was a plan to divert public funds to a non-priority expenditure which had allegedly not gone through public participation as required by the law