• The Public Investments Committee on Tuesday raised concerns the National Treasury had not taken action against the respective accounting officers.
• Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir-led committee said it was untold that the officers took over one and a half years to respond to the excess payment.
Image: JACK OWUOR
Lawmakers want action taken against Kenya Power and Ministry of Energy officials who delayed Sh756 million receipt of refunds from Lake Turkana Windpower Ltd.
LTWP refunded Kenya Power the 6 million Euros (Sh756m) about two weeks ago but questions remain how much interest was accrued and who benefited from the same.
The Public Investments Committee on Tuesday raised concerns over National Treasury's failure to take action against the respective accounting officers.
Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir-led committee said it was untold that the officers took over one and a half years to respond to the excess payment.
Treasury PS Julius Muia was hard-pressed to explain the ministry’s inaction in punishing the officials behind the extra money paid for idle power generated at the Loyangalani wind farm.
This was even as MPs demanded details of officials who amended the power purchase agreement that staged the extra payments.
The government paid Sh10.3 billion for deemed generated energy after Kenya Electricity Transmission Company delayed works on the transmission line to evacuate power from the wind farm.
While the LTWP plant was ready by January 27, 2017, the transmission interconnector was delayed until 2018, delays which Kenya Power settled over six million Euros (Sh756 million)
“The refund was received and accounted for. As to why KPLC and Energy ministry took a lot of time is something I don’t know,” Muia told MPs when he appeared before the committee.
Nassir said the response that the ministry was still considering what action to take was unsatisfactory as Treasury is empowered to take action in such instances.
“When you tell us you don’t know, we don’t know who to ask. It is a year plus, and further to this, it wasn’t even Kenya Power who realised there was an excess payment. LTWP is the one that wrote,” the Mvita MP said.
Also queried is why the government officials changed the contract terms to increase the tariff and have taxpayers charged for the delays yet the contract had no part saying Treasury was to contribute.
Muia, in response, said they would engage the Kenya Power to ascertain how much interest has been accumulated and who are the beneficiaries.
“That needs calculation. LTWP was holding the money. They are the ones who would have earned the interest. Had the government received that money, it would be our imputed savings when servicing our debt,” the PS said.
MPs said the Treasury should consider what the country could have earned in the face of the prevailing cash flow crisis where there are people in dire need of money.
“If we let this go, I hope that those who come after us don’t mess like this. What action has been taken against those people who have not responded?” Nassir asked.
Muia said refunds follow an elaborate process that requires good and careful verification.
“In government, refund is domiciled in the office of the respective officer – in this case, the Energy ministry and Kenya Power,” he said.
“In terms of how we operate, we are at the level of considering what should be done in the face of the delays and action taken against the officials.”
However, the MPs, said the law must be applied equally.
“As an accounting officer, I don’t expect you to tell us you will follow the law or not. It is not right that we are still considering. We are expecting that someone should take responsibility,” Nassir said.
His Kaloleni counterpart Paul Katana asked, “Does it take one and half years for someone to verify a refund? How does it take more than a year to give the correct details of the account?”
This was even as it emerged another contractor who completed the line after the delays that caused the deemed generated energy costs is yet to be paid.
China’s Nari Construction Group is said to have finished the line on time and is now demanding interest penalties over delayed payment.
The company had signed they would take responsibility for deemed generated energy and has instead completed the same.
It has also emerged the firm that initially won the tender – Isolux, was not registered in Spain as was required by the contract terms and also scored poorly in technical evaluation.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris