A House team has recommended that Auditor General Edward Ouko carries out a forensic audit on NSSF’s Hazina Towers and if there is value for money.
In a report tabled in Parliament, the Public Investment Committee of the National Assembly, chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, says the DCI and the EACC should deal with those found culpable.
“Depending on the outcome of the audit, the EACC and the DCI should conduct investigations on the management and the NSSF board that were in place during the period under review to establish whether there was fraud relating to contract of works on the implementation,” the committee says. The report has recommended that the National Social Security Fund should only pay the contractor the amount recommended by the Public Works department.
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Chinese contractor, Jiangxi International, has slapped NSSF with a Sh6.9 billion compensation claim due to delays caused by the protracted case between Nakumatt Holdings and the NSSF.
China’s Jiangxi has been paid Sh2.5 billion for the project.
The NSSF awarded the contract to the firm to finish building the 39-storey tower, which already had eight floors, including the four that housed Nakumatt, between June 2013 and July 2016.
The troubled supermarket chain moved to court four years ago and blocked the building of additional floors above its Nakumatt Lifestyle branch on grounds the construction was disrupting business.
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The committee said from the information provided by Public Works, the case was not necessary.
“The NSSF incurred unnecessary losses in legal fees, delay in implementation of the project, variation from the contractors and the opportunity cost associated with business loss if building was in use,” the report says.
The NSSF has decided to cap the building at 15 floors, lowering the construction cost to about Sh4 billion from the initial cost of Sh6.7 billion.
The Fund, the report says, failed to seek advice from Department of Public Works at the time of commencement of the project.