Knec office block takes 25 years

The cost of building a parastatal’s offices has shot up from Sh250 million 25 years ago to more than Sh1 billion.

Construction work on the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) complex, or Mitihani House, started in 1986.

The site has three incomplete buildings, the result of incessant disputes and frequent change of contractors.

Education permanent secretary James ole Kiyiapi said during a meeting with the Public Works ministry that the project had taken so long because of lack of coordination of construction work.

He said the project had “multiple layers” with different stakeholders, managers and consultants, in collaboration with the Education ministry and Knec.

According to the Public Works ministry, the first phase of the project was a Sh112 million printing plant, started on February 7, 2005, and completed on January 31, 2006, and this is being utilised.

The second phase, office partitioning, began on March 29, 2006, and was completed on January 8, 2007, at a cost of Sh18 million. Nothing more has been done.

The construction of the third phase started on November 29, 2006, and was completed in September 2009 after some works were omitted.

The Ministry of Public Works said it committed Sh650 million in October 2008 to complete phase four, which was started on October 21, 2008, and was to be done together with phase three.

But because of difficulties in working with two contractors, the phase three contractor was asked to leave before completing the work.

Prof Kiyiapi said everyone involved — contractors, consultants, managers and the technical council should be cognisant of the costs of the delays to the taxpayer and try to resolve all outstanding issues.

A meeting of all stakeholders will be held on Friday to this end. The Public Works ministry plans to hand over the complex to the Knec, which has offices scattered all over Nairobi, on November 11, this year.