The Jubilee administration’s practice of hiring consultants to supervise mega projects being executed by various ministries is under scrutiny.
MPs at the Environment Committee raised the red flag over the involvement of the said experts saying they are occasioning additional costs to the taxpayers.
The Kareke Mbiuki-led team (Maara MP) said it is unacceptable that such entities are being taken on board yet ministries have experts who can supervise projects.
Documents tabled before the committee show that the Water ministry alone would spend Sh3.2 billion to pay consultants contracted for some 10 ongoing dam projects.
SMEC Kenya Ltd has the highest share at Sh1.7 billion for works at Thwake Dam followed by H.P Gauff which bid for Sh598 million to supervise works at Itare Dam.
SMEC has also been lined by the Water ministry to supervise works at the Umaa Dam at Sh202 million while Tertiary Consulting Engineers would get Sh178 million after completion of design review for Badasa Dam.
Sorata Bell & Gibb Africa was contracted at Sh200 million for works at Ruiru II Dam and Water Supplies project while Runji Consulting Group got Sh180 million for Karimenu II Dam and another Sh84 million for Yamo Dam.
The consultants are hired to assist the main contractors in the supervision, engagement of subcontractors and for recruitment of staff.
But lawmakers castigated the arrangement saying it has contributed to the escalated costs of various projects by ministries.
Further, they raised concerns that most of those already engaged by the government are foreign entities hence defeating the requirement that 30 per cent of works be handled by locals.
“Why should we spend these amounts of money which we can use to fund other projects that Kenyans are in dire need of?” Njoro MP Charity Chepkwony asked.
“We have engineers sleeping in the office yet we pay billions to get experts from outside the country. This is unacceptable,” Kinango MP Benjamin Tayari said.
Water CS Simon Chelugui, who was before the committee to give updates on the status of dam projects, defended the ministry on the consultancy question.
“The engineers at the ministry are not enough for the scale of works we do, therefore, we outsource the consultants. Some contractors also prefer working with foreign consultants to assure them of quality,” he said.
Chelugui added that ministry engineers, at the end of an assessment, oversight and supervise what the foreign consultants have reported.
But Mbiuki warned that the consultancy idea is the root cause of scandals in most of the mega projects adding that the government must rethink the arrangement.
“We must rethink our dealings with these groups as well as reconsider the use of Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Finance as a funding model,” the Maara MP said.
For his part, Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo said: “The consultants attempt to exercise powers which they are not entitled to. They arm-twist contractors who end up breaching their terms of service.”
