The National Assembly Public Investment Committee yesterday asked the NSSF to stop construction of the Sh6.7 billion Hazina Trade Centre tower.
NSSF acting director Anthony Omerikwa told the committee the project had been scaled down from 36 floors to 15.
Chairman Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita MP) asked why the contractor has been allowed to resume work when the contract expired on July 16, 2016.
The building is being put up in the CBD. Nassir said if the building had been scaled down, the entire contract should have been retendered.
“That you have scaled down the project from 36 to 15 floors at the same contract sum of Sh6.7 billion is shocking. What are the reasons for the scaling down of the project that the board approved for 36 storeys?” Nassir asked Omerikwa.
“Is it its structural fitness or lack of budget? Are there any variations as a result of delay in completion of the projects?”
Omerikwa told the committee at Parliament Buildings that the NSSF got the site from Nakumatt Supermarkets and the contractor is already on site.
“We are finishing it where it is now, based on recommendations and advice from the ministry of Public Works. The project is currently at the 15th floor,” he told the committee.
Committee members accused the NSSF boss of conspiring with the contractor to misappropriate public funds.
“There is more than meets the eye. There seems to be a cartel of some kind. You cannot allow the contractor to proceed when you have no cost estimates,” Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa said. The committee will visit the project next Thursday.
