Scandal of Sh30 million spent on non-existent fire station at Gikomba
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu says there was no evidence to confirm that the project was completed despite the lapse of the contract period
Gikomba fire station remains a dream for traders at the largest mitumba market in East and Central Africa.
Construction of the Ksh 59,983,103 facility that was expected to be built last year after the award remains a fiction in their minds with the Nairobi City County Government unable to show to any progress of construction or completion of the works.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in her audit report for the Financial Year 2023/24, reveals that even though a certificate of inspection and acceptance was awarded to the contractor and Ksh 30,024,578 paid, a technical report to support the same was not provided to her during her audit.
“The inspection and acceptance certificate number 1 dated 28 June 2024 for Sh30,024,578 was not supported with a technical report that detailed the work completed, including the remaining works, which would allow for a comparison against the contract completion period,” she said.
“There was also no evidence to confirm that the project was completed despite the lapse of the contract period. In the circumstances, the value for money and regularity of expenditure of Sh59,983,163 could not be confirmed,” the auditor General added.
Further, Gathungu reveals that the five-member tender opening committee irregularly served as the tender evaluation committee as City Hall failed to form an ad hoc tender committee as stipulated in the law.
“The tender opening committee was comprised of five (5) members; the same members also served on the tender evaluation committee, which is against the law that requires the procuring authority to establish an ad hoc tender evaluation committee,” Gathungu noted in her report.
Even though the fire station is set to address the perennial fire outbreaks in the city’s popular markets, traders of the market protested last year when the contract for the construction of the fire station was signed as they risked losing their stalls.
The traders lamented that despite the call to have the fire station, they did not expect their stalls to be demolished as they shared that they had been told it would cover a 100 by 100 squares.
