By ABIGAEL SUM
KENYA: MPs will investigate how the cost of the new Mitihani House has reportedly shot up from Sh250 million to Sh3.3 billion, yet the project is incomplete 27 years later.
So far more than Sh1.5 billion has been spent on the project, with only 54 Per cent of the project completed. ON Thursday, members of the parliamentary committee on Education, Research and Technology raised a red flag during a tour of the controversial project by the Kenyan National Examination Council (Knec) in Nairobi’s South C.
Mbooni MP Michael Munyao said the number of years it has taken to complete construction and the amount of money spent gave the impression of corruption.
“This is pure deliberate sabotage to create an avenue for corruption. We will interrogate the matter to the bitter end. There is no reason why a project that would have cost the taxpayer Sh250 million will now cost more than Sh3 billion,” said Munyao. He said taxpayers could not continue losing money on the project while there are other pressing priorities. Committee chairperson Sabina Chege also questioned the Sh139 million paid to a contractor for work not done.
Disagreement
She questioned the payment of Sh139 million to M/S Mistry Javda Parbat Company following a disagreement between the contractor and the Government that took 18 years to resolve. She said they were seeking to understand the cause of delay and come up with a way forward to complete the project. “We are on a fact-finding mission. We wanted to know the status of the project and what has caused the delay,” she said.
Ms Chege reiterated the need to fast track the project to enhance efficient communication and administrative activities of Knec. “The council is experiencing a shortage of facilities for examination related materials because the current storage space is full. The stores within the new Mitihani project complex need to be completed to avert a crisis,” noted Chege.
She added the confusion surrounding the project since it was commissioned must be cleared to allow successful completion.
She was speaking after touring the incomplete complex accompanied by other committee members, among them Julius Meli (vice-chair), Michael Munyao (Mbooni), Cecilia Ngetich (Bomet), Rose Mitaru (Embu) Harry Kombe (Magarini), Mary Seneta (Kajiado) and Joseph M’eruaki (Igembe North).
The MPs pointed out that bureaucracies in Government was one of the reasons causing the delay as it takes time before funds meant for the project are released. They said there was need to streamline the management of the construction.
