City Hall on the spot for slow, shoddy road construction

City Hall, Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

What you need to know:

  • City Hall had initiated 25 projects in the 2016/2017 financial year at more than Sh1.3 billion.
  • However, six of them worth more than Sh265 million were yet to start 19 months later.

City Hall is on the spot over slow rate of implementation of projects with most failing to kick off as others stall yet contractors are paid millions of shillings despite some doing shoddy jobs.

A report by Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed the county’s Transport and Public Works department had initiated 25 projects in the 2016/2017 financial year at more than Sh1.3 billion. However, six of them worth more than Sh265 million were yet to start 19 months later.

More damning is that out of the 19 projects that are off the starting blocks, only four valued at a paltry Sh69 million had been certified for payment.

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The report, tabled before the Nairobi Assembly late last month, revealed that some of the projects have been in implementation for more than three years. Quality of construction works was extremely poor and some contractors had abandoned the sites only to resurface before the committee’s visit this year.

“Some of the companies contracted to construct or rehabilitate roads within the county lack financial and technical capacity to deliver,” read the report.

The committee chaired by Mabatini Ward MCA Wilfred Odalo called for the blacklisting of one contractor M/S Elite ITS Limited. The company is responsible for the construction of Plains View Likoni link road in South B Ward and the rehabilitation of Academy Road in Karen.

The two projects were awarded in December, 2016 at a combined cost of more than Sh269 million. The contractor has been paid over Sh95 million despite the poor situation of the projects.

The link road is only 40 percent complete and completion date was June 30, 2019 after an extension of more than 15 months. The rehabilitation of Academy Road is only 65 percent ready while the completion date was June 6, 2019.

Grading of Madoya Road in Huruma, awarded to M/S Solid Waste Collectors in December, 2016 at Sh4.9 million is only 15 percent complete almost a year after the set date. A number of roads to be done by several contractors are incomplete.

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