Nyandarua county government terminated a Level 5 hospital construction project worth over Sh1.8 billion following a presidential directive.
This was done at the expense the residents and denying taxpayers value for money, an audit report has revealed.
The proposed construction project of the JM Memorial County Referral Hospital Medical Complex was awarded to a contractor at a contract sum of Sh1.47 billion in July 2021, and was scheduled to be completed in July 7, 2024 (after 156 weeks), a senate committee heard.
However, the contract sum was later revised upwards to Sh1.60 billion (an increment of 8.72 percent) and the project completion date extended by two more years to July 1, 2026, according to documents presented at a senate committee.
Following a presidential directive, Nyandarua County government entered into a termination agreement with the contractor on August 4, 2024, the senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) heard during a sitting on Thursday.
“Physical verification conducted in October 2025, revealed that minimal was ongoing at the construction site,” stated the audit report.
“In the circumstances, value for money may not be realised due to delayed completion of the project.”
A senate committee heard that the county executive terminated the contract for the proposed construction project of the JM Memorial County Referral Hospital Medical Complex, only to end up rehiring the same contractor at the same initial contract sum.
According to documents presented at the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) the county executive awarded a contract for building the JM Memorial County Referral Hospital Medical Complex at an initial contract sum of Sh1.47 billion.
Governor Kiarie Badilisha was hard-pressed to explain why the proposed construction of the Medical Complex at the JM Memorial County Referral Hospital had taken unnecessarily long to complete.
The committee, led by Senator Moses Kajwang (Homa Bay), also put the governor to task over the irregular contract termination process, with senators querying how the contract was re-awarded to the initial contractor at the same contract sum.
“This thing was done in a very kienyeji (haphazard) manner. How did the Department of Defence (DoD) end up with the same contractor that had been terminated with the same amount?” Posed the CPAC chairperson.
In response, the county boss stated that the construction project was 48 percent complete by the time the contract was being terminated, noting that his government executed the transfer of the project.
The legislators, however, trashed the response, noting that the county went ahead to irregularly pay for incomplete work, with the entire process carried out contrary to the law regarding the transfer of functions.
Article 187 (1) of the constitution stipulates that “A function or power of government at one level may be transferred to a government at the other level by agreement between the governments if the function or power would be more effectively performed or exercised by the receiving government; and the transfer of the function or power is not prohibited by the legislation under which it is to be performed or exercised.
It goes on to say “If a function or power is transferred from a government at one level to a government at the other level-- arrangements shall be put in place to ensure that the resources necessary for the performance of the function or exercise of the power are transferred; and constitutional responsibility for the performance of the function or exercise of the power shall remain with the government to which it is assigned by the Fourth Schedule.”
Senator Kajwang posed, “If the transfer was not done it should be reflected. How does it come as a liability?”
The legislators sought to know if the county attorney and the head of procurement provided expert advice to Governor Badilisha on how to implement the transfer and proceed in a lawful manner.
“Did the county attorney give any written opinion to the office of the governor including Article 187 compliance,” queried Senator Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira).
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei enquired about the county attorney’s legal basis and if the Governor took a step to engage the office of the Attorney General.
While Governor Badilisha stated that his office was well advised and that the county attorney sat at the contract termination committee, the legal officer explained that the advice was issued orally.
“We did not see it necessary as a transfer of service or functions,” stated the attorney.
The legislators raised concerns over the recent trend of counties implementing presidential directives without regard to the due process of the law, reiterating that the law must be followed to the core.
“Immediately there is executive order everything else stops,” stated Senator Enoch Wambua (Kitui).
“I want the county attorney to tell this committee whether they advised the county government to stick to the law.”
The Committee clarified that while it was not opposed to counties receiving support from the national government, the law had to be followed.
“This will set a precedence to all presidential declaration. We want this project completed but it has to be done lawfully,” said Mr Kajwang.
“There is nothing wrong with the national government expressing interest in helping counties complete projects…it has happened in other counties. The only thing that you must ensure happens is that the process is lawful.
Runaway pending bills, incomplete and stalled projects such as the Pharmacy and Laboratory at Manunga Health Centre, Bamboo Health Centre Radiology Unit, Chamuka Dispensary, failure to retain Facilities Improvement Fund (FIF) at the hospitals, are among the issues flagged by the auditor general.
