EACC summons City Hall honcho in Sh1.2bn probe
Dandora Stadium in Embakasi North Sub-County, Nairobi under construction in this picture taken on September 6, 2019. PHOTO | FILE |
What you need to know:
Investigations by EACC follows recommendations by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority after it questioned the tendering process and standard of the work already done on the stadia.
PPRA flagged irregularities in the awarding of the tender, alteration of contract specifications, suspected irregular payments and forgery of documents in the investigations conducted after it received a complaint on June 13, 2019.
The anti-graft agency has summoned Nairobi Acting County Secretary Simon Morintat to record a statement regarding the tender for construction of four stadia at Sh1.2 billion.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission CEO Twalib Mbarak wants Mr Morintat to furnish the agency with relevant documentation as it seeks to establish whether the procurement process was above board.
The tender for the construction of the four stadia -- Dandora, Kawangware, Kihumbuini and Ziwani -- was awarded to M/S Scanjet Construction Limited during the 2017/18 financial year.
The stadia were to be completed within 18 months from the date of the award but they are yet to be completed despite the monies having been paid.
According to Mr Mbarak, the information EACC is seeking will also help in confirming if public funds were used properly.
“The EACC is conducting investigations into allegations of corruption and procurement irregularities in the award of the tender for construction of the four stadia. The commission believes that you have information that can assist in the said investigations,” Mr Mbarak says in the January 6 letter to Mr Morintat.
“In exercise of the powers conferred, the EACC requires you, as the county secretary, to provide the original documents in the procurement process,” he adds.
The documents sought by the EACC include minutes of the county cabinet meeting held on April 26, 2019 that deliberated, for instance, change of the Dandora Stadium construction materials, and M/S Scanjet Construction bid document.
Also required is the engineer’s cost estimates for the whole project -- the four stadia -- a request to vary the contract from either client or contractor, and a signed varied contract incorporating the changes to the contract.
The others are revised and approved tender documents or bill of quantities for the scope of works, varied and approved committee reports that deliberated and recommended the variations of the contract.
A report to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) regarding the variations of the contract by the county is also required by the EACC.
“Take further notice that failure to comply with this notice, you shall be rendered liable to the penal consequences stipulated under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act,” Mr Mbarak warns.
The investigations by EACC follow recommendations by the PPRA after it questioned the tendering process and standard of the work already done on the stadia.
PPRA flagged irregularities in the awarding of the tender, alteration of contract specifications, suspected irregular payments and forgery of documents in the investigations conducted after it received complaints on June 13, 2019.
The complainant raised several issues over the Dandora Stadium project, including alleging that although the contractor was required to construct a concrete structure, he put up steel structures in clear contravention of the specifications of the contract.
The complainant also alleged that the county government went ahead to irregularly pay the contractor despite warnings from the technical evaluators at City County.
There were further complaints of documents being forged -- including a cabinet memorandum to state that the steel should be introduced when the work is 70 per cent complete.
