County officials keep mum over slow renovation of Gusii Stadium

Despite spending millions of shillings on the renovation of Gusii Stadium since work began in  2014, Kisii County Government officials have declined to reveal the contractors who have been working on the flagship project.

A recent report by the Auditor General stated that the contractor who built a pavilion at the stadium in 2020 was hired illegally.

Nation Sport is in possession of the report that reveals that the contractor’s registration certificate and practising licence from the National Construction Authority (NCA) expired on June 30, 2019.

Therefore, the contractor did the work contrary to section 7 of the NCA regulations, 2014 which states that a person or firm shall submit an annual application for renewal to the authority.

Efforts to get details on the progress of the stadium project proved fruitless as county officials declined to comment on the matter. It is not known when the stadium will be complete.

Despite several requests made by Nation Sport, County Secretary Patrick Lumumba, acting County Executive Committee member for Sports Edna Kangwana and the Chief Officer for Sports all declined to mention the contractors who have been working on the stadium and how much they have been paid.

In 2018, the county government opened the stadium to the public when the region hosted the sixth edition of the Kenya Inter-County Sports and Cultural Association Games.

The following year, Gusii Stadium also hosted the 40th edition of the Kenya Communications Sports Organisation Games.

Presently, the stadium is closed after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered fresh renovations, citing a substandard job done on the playing surface.

This is after Kisii County successfully held the 2020 Mashujaa Day celebrations at the stadium after the national government funded its renovations and the county government pumped in Sh60 million.

When the initial renovations began in 2014, Kisii Governor James Ongwae announced that Sh46 million had been set aside for the project.

In the 2021/2022 financial year, the county government allocated another Sh96 million to the project.

However, while attending former Cabinet minister Simeon Nyachae’s funeral in Kisii on March last year, the Head of State directed that the stadium be improved to international standards.

He said that the stadium should have been completed by December 2021, but it has fallen behind schedule. The President tasked Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to work with the Kisii County Government to ensure a tartan track is installed in  the stadium and the drainage system is improved.

President Kenyatta said that the national government had injected and additional Sh150 million into the project.

“Once complete, this stadium will be renamed Simeon Nyachae Stadium. We expect the upgrading to be completed before the end of the year,” he said.

Despite the order, the project is yet to be finished and the county government has remained silent.

A visit by Nation Sport at the site on Wednesday established that work was going on, but at a slow pace.

The underground irrigation system, which had been installed, has been excavated.

Leveling up of the playing surface and the foundation for the installation of the tartan track have been done.

But the county government has barred journalists from taking photos of the stadium and conducting interviews at the site.

“We are not allowed to speak to the media, only the County Secretary is allowed to give information in regard to this project,” said one of the workers.

In 2018, a committee appointed by Kisii County Assembly to investigate the state of the stadium reported that the Sports Department spent money in unclear circumstances.

The committee revealed that whereas the project was initially meant to cost Sh46 million Sh52 million had been spent.

The report states that officials from the Department of Public Works failed to provide the bill of quantities, names of contractors and minutes of the meeting during which the payments were approved.

The committee recommended that the contractors who did not work but were paid be blacklisted and be barred for three years from working for the Kisii County Government.

The committee also resolved to closely monitor contractors who were still working, and payment will only be done only after completion of the project.

The stadium has 12 spectator stands with a sitting capacity of 800 each, and a presidential pavilion with a capacity to accommodate 2,000 VIPs.

Other improvements include holding areas for VIPs at the main dais, water points, 32 toilets and a parking space for 30 vehicles.

As a result of renovations at the stadium, Football Kenya Federation National Super League sides Shabana FC and Gusii FC who use it as their home ground have been forced to move to Awendo Stadium in Migori County. Awendo is a private stadium owned by  Sony Sugar Company.

Timeline of events

2014: The Kisii County Government launches renovation of Gusii Stadium.

2018: the county government opened the stadium to the public when the region hosted the sixth edition of the Kenya Inter-County Sports and Cultural Association Games.

2019: The contractor’s registration certificate and practising licence from the National Construction Authority (NCA) expires.

2020: Gusii Stadium hosts Mashujaa Day celebrations.

2021: President  Uhuru Kenyatta orders fresh renovations of the stadium to international standards.