Team orders audit of stalled projects
A House committee wants the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary to conduct an audit of all stalled and incomplete national government projects in the next three months with a view to hastening their completion.
The directive comes after it emerged that government projects worth Sh9.75 billion have either stalled or are incomplete.
Public Accounts Committee (OAC) chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi directed that the report of the stalled and incomplete national government projects be submitted to the National Assembly for prioritisation in appropriation of funds.
No legal objections
The committee said in most instances, payments were made for work not done, casting doubt on value for money for such expenditure.
“The government spent Sh9.75 billion on various projects with no work done, stalled or incomplete projects,” said the committee.
The committee, in a report tabled in the National Assembly, also recommended that the National Treasury CS ensures Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with the stalled and incomplete projects do not initiate any new project until the completion of the on-going projects.
It also want the CS and various departmental committees of the National Assembly to ensure the budgets prepared by the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies including the National Treasury are realistic.
They should also adhere to credible budgeting process to ensure that the revenue raised is adequate to cover the expenditures to reduce the budget deficit.
“The respective Departmental Committees of the National Assembly should ensure that stalled/incomplete projects with no legal objections are given priority during budget appropriation,” reads the report in part.
The committee’s revelation comes after an audit report for the 2017/18 financial year compiled by the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu revealed that the government had incurred huge expenditure on projects, which had not only stalled but had also remained incomplete long beyond the contract period.
In July last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the executive to focus on implementation and completion of ongoing priority projects and programmes as set out in his administration’s transformative agenda for the country.
Priority projects
Uhuru, who spoke in a virtual meeting with senior Executive officials that included Cabinet Secretaries, Chief Administrative Secretaries and Principal Secretaries, reiterated his earlier directive that no new projects will be initiated except with his express authority.
Among the projects that had stalled include the construction of the Sh4.29 billion Arror dam under the Department of Planning and Statistics yet no work has been done.
The construction of various projects worth Sh2.45 billion by the State Department of Public Works had also stalled.
The projects included the construction of Lamu Police Station and Management Housing at a cost of Sh615.8 million, Mathare Nyayo Hospital at a contract sum of Sh1.2 billion and the stalled construction of Kenya Institute of Business Training at a contract sum of Sh 629.9 million.
