Queries over purchase of police houses

A pass out ceremony at the Kenya Police College in Kiganjo on August 24, 2013. FILE PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI |

What you need to know:

  • 140 two-bedroom houses were purchased for the Administration Police at Sh5.8 million each, amounting to Sh812 million.
  • Some 40 three-bedroom houses were also purchased at Sh6.8 million each, with the total amount spent on them being Sh272 million.

The Auditor-General has raised queries on how Sh1.8 billion set aside for the purchase of 300 houses for the police was spent.

Auditors wondered why the procurement in the 2012/2013 financial year was done without a serious market survey.

They said in the absence of the survey, which would have served as a benchmark against payments in excess of the prevailing market prices required under the law, the pricing may have been largely inappropriate.

Under the deal, 140 two-bedroom houses were purchased for the Administration Police at Sh5.8 million each, amounting to Sh812 million.

REGULAR UNIT

Some 40 three-bedroom houses were also purchased at Sh6.8 million each, with the total amount spent on them being Sh272 million.

An additional 20 four-bedroom houses were bought for the APs at Sh7.5 million, amounting to Sh150 million.

For the regular police, 75 houses were bought at Sh5.8 million each. The total amount spent on them was Sh435 million.

Some 19 three-bedroom houses going for Sh6.8 million each were also bought for the unit, amounting to Sh129 million.

Six four-bedroom houses costing Sh7.5 million were also purchased. In all, they cost Sh45 million.

But the Defence PS Mutea Iringo on Tuesday said: “We (Office of the President) always give detailed responses to audit queries as raised by auditors. And in this case our office did.”