Nairobi MCAs raise concerns over unfinished Dandora Stadium

The Nairobi City County government has been put on the spot over the continued stalling of work at the Sh350 million Dandora Stadium, with the executive now under pressure to resume construction. 

This comes after Nairobi MCAs raised concerns over the delays in the completion of the 3,000-seater stadium.

The ward representatives, led by Dandora Area 4 MCA Francis Ngesa, now want the county executive to explain the steps it intends to take to have the project completed as per the original plans.

They also want City Hall to explain why the multi-million shillings project is yet to be completed despite several announcements of its launch.

Mr Ngesa pointed out that the county government had put in place necessary plans, including the budget for the construction of the Dandora Stadium, with a view to benefiting Nairobi residents under its initiative of providing platforms for youth empowerment, but the project’s completion now hangs in the balance.

"The county government had commenced works on the stadium but it stalled midway for reasons not known to the stakeholders," said Mr Ngesa.

"With no doubt, this has disillusioned many who would otherwise benefit from the stadium which was scheduled for unveiling in July 2020," he added.

The tender for building the stadium was awarded to M/S Scanjet Construction Limited during the 2017/18 financial year and the work was to be completed within 18 months.

FIFA standards

However, the much-touted facility, which was to be constructed according to FIFA standards, is now lying incomplete with heaps of construction materials, including an artificial turf shipped in from Europe, wasting away at the entrance of the stadium while leaking roofs in the dressing and medical rooms, peeling patches of paint being are also a welcoming sight at the stadium.

Problems started last year when the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) started investigating an alleged use of sub-standard materials, with the contractor being accused of using steel instead of concrete.

At the time, work on the stadium was 80 per cent done when the contractor left the site in September last year with no perimeter fence and main gate yet to be built although seats and floodlights had been fitted.

The investigations, which saw more than 15 Nairobi County government officials grilled over the project, followed a report by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) which questioned the tendering process and the standard of the work already done on the stadium.

Irregularities

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.

Consequently, the Nairobi County Assembly Sports and Culture committee has been given two weeks to look into the matter and report back to the House.

The committee has been tasked to inquire into and report on reasons why the project stalled and plans by the county government to resume the project.

The stadium had been touted to be the first facility in East Africa to display electronic advertising boards with other features including a reception area, dressing rooms for home and away teams — each of which consists of eight lockers, sinks, shower rooms, urinals and toilets.