•The audit report showed county paid Sh13.87 million to a company to construct the governor’s residence. Total cost Sh35m. Tolgos said there was public input.
• Physical verification done by the auditor in 2018 revealed the site had been deserted.
Image: BY MATHEWS NDANYI
Elgeyo Marakwet residents are paying Governor Alex Tolgo’s rent after a court stopped construction of his residence because his administration failed to conduct public participation.
More than Sh13 million was paid to the contractor. The total cost was to be Sh35 million.
The revelations emerged during a Senate watchdog committee hearing that also put Tolgos on the spot over 41 stalled projects that have put taxpayers' money at risk.
Tolgos said public participation and been conducted for his residence and blamed local politics for the problems.
The Senate County Public Accounts and Investments Committee summoned Tolgos to respond to audit queries flagged by former Auditor General Edward Ouko in 2017-18.
The audit report showed that the county government paid Sh13.87 million to a company to construct the governor’s residence.
However, a physical verification done by the auditor in 2018 revealed the site had been deserted.
“Consequently, the county has not obtained value for money in Sh13,873, 301.50 paid towards the project,” the report reads.
The project was being constructed near the Kamariny Stadium.
Tolgos, who is serving his second and final term, told the nine-member committee chaired by Kisii Senator Sam Ongeri the project stopped after residents challenged it for lack of public participation.
The governor disclosed the residents objected to the residence being constructed on land meant for the stadium.
“Initially, we wanted to do the residence elsewhere. We published EOI (expression of interest) in the papers asking anybody with land to give, but there was no response. The only option was to use public land and the one next to Kamariny was the one available,” Tolgos said.
His statement triggered a barrage of questions.
Senators Ledama Ole Kina (Narok), Johannes Mwaruma (Taita Taveta) Samson Cherargei (Nandi) and Hargura Godana (Marsabit) all demanded why the county government by-passed a constitutional requirement – public participation – before undertaking a project of such a magnitude.
“Why did you not conduct public participation the people had to resort to court? Why did you start a project without public participation?” Cherargei asked.
Ole Kina asked, “You paid Sh13 million to a certain company who did not go to the site. What have you done to recover the money?
But the governor insisted that his administration followed all the processes and blamed local politics for the court case that stalled the projects.
“The whole process has become political. It is not true that we did not do public participation,” the governor said.
Tolgos also was hard pressed to explain 41 worth Sh369.69 million that have either delayed or stalled over years.
The governor explained the works, mainly road projects, stopped because of heavy rainfall.
“After we had signed the contracts and most contractors had taken up the sites, the rains fell and the department was forced to abandon the road works for some time until the rains subsided,” he said.
Hargura, who chaired part of the session, ordered the governor to provide a comprehensive status report on the projects, the court ruling on the governor’s residence and plans to revive the projects.
(Edited by V. Graham)