Utalii college cost inflated from Sh1.9b to Sh8.9b

Ministry of Tourism officials irregularly varied the cost of construction for a college from Sh1.9 billion to Sh8.9 billion, Treasury has revealed.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, who was appearing before the National Assembly Public Investments Committee, also revealed that tourism officials sanctioned the construction of Ronald Ngala Utalii College in Kilifi County without the full approval of Cabinet.

The CS explained that the Tourism Fund varied the cost of the project from the initial Sh1.9 billion, which had been approved, in total disregard for the advice issued by his ministry.

Mr Rotich told members of the Adan Keynan-led team that Treasury had advised the Tourism ministry, through the department that was the implementing agency, to consider private-public partnerships to bring down the cost of the project.

"The partnership with the private sector would have scaled down the project cost. They were to await approval by the Cabinet on variation before embarking on the project," he explained.

The committee is investigating how the cost of the project shot from the budgeted Sh1.9 billion to Sh8.9 billion and later dropped to Sh4.9 billion after revision. During the session yesterday, MPs were convinced that some tourism officials may have connived with some members of the parent ministry and from Treasury to embezzle part of the funds.

The legislators wondered how the officials had managed to dupe members of the Finance Committee to approve a sum of Sh2.4 billion towards the project, which was clearly a cash cow, for four consecutive years.

Rotich disclosed that the project was awarded money even after his ministry had opted not to allocate any cash to the project in the national budget until they got the required Cabinet approval for the contractual variation of Sh4.9 billion.

The CS, who was taken to task to explain the level of involvement of the National Treasury in the project, defended his ministry and shifted the blame to MPs.

He said it was the mandate of the ministry to release funds for projects after Parliament allocated money through the supplementary budget.

"Treasury according to its constitutional mandate made sure it did not allocate money before approval by the Cabinet of the variation of the project," said the CS, adding that it would have been irregular for his ministry not to provide funding after Parliament approved allocation.

Rotich said MPs approved supplementary budget allocations with the full knowledge that Treasury had frozen disbursement.