Kenya Power did not involve EPRA and the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation in the last mile connectivity project, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed.
This, Gathungu said, may have led to duplication of the project during implementation in various parts of the country.
The project was launched in 2017 in partnership with the African Development Bank, which was the main financier at Sh13.5 billion.
The objective of the project was to extend the low voltage network to reach households located within 600 meters of a transformer.
While Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority does licensing and regulations, REREC oversees the implementation of the rural electrification programme among other functions.
In her latest report, Gathungu cites the lack of public participation and project ownership by communities benefiting from the project as a hindrance that hampered its execution.
Gathungu says crucial documents key to the procurement of services and works which include feasibility studies and surveys were not provided for audit review revealing weaknesses in the implementation plan.
“Bills of quantities, and architectural drawings, environmental and social impacts assessment reports for the project were also not provided,” she said.
The report says the company procured consultancy services for supervision and management of civil works and installation of meters at Sh274 million.
“Site visits by the audit team showed no evidence of the presence of consultant personnel something that raised doubts on whether they had been deployed as per contract,” the report says.
Out of the 525,796 customers targeted in the first and second phases of the project, the report says only 213,432 had been connected representing 41 per cent of the projected number.
The report says Sh28.27 billion representing 63 per cent of the approved loan amount of Sh44.79 had also been disbursed.
“Documents in respect of disbursement and payment to contractors were not provided for audit verification,” it says.
Installation of electricity was lowered from Sh35,000 to Sh15,000 to speed up Jubilee’s agenda to have at least 70 per cent of Kenyan households connected by 2017.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
