On 25th May 2019 (two months into the project) the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) issued a circular setting cost limits for the construction of the houses for Governors at Ksh. 45,000,000 and Deputy Governors at Ksh.35, 000,000. The contract entered into, therefore, exceeded the set limit of Ksh.80, 000,000 by an amount of Kshs.68, 526,625 or approximately 86% of the approved ceiling
Governor Wilber Otichilo of Vihiga County is in trouble with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission sleuths following revelations of how county funds were misappropriated under his watch. Sources within Vihiga County told The Weekly Vision that Ksh. 20,996,811 was unnecessarily incurred on the construction of the Governor’s and Deputy Governor’s official residences under a contract signed on 20th February 2019.
In February 2018, Mr Ottichilo faced accusations from the residents who accused him of spending Ksh.150, 000 every month living in a lavish hotel in Kisumu. The governor’s official residence on a two-hectare parcel at Enderi in Sabatia sub-county cost the county Ksh. 80 million. The land on which the house sits costs Ksh. 23.9 million while the design for the house alone cost Ksh. 24 million. The contract was signed between the County Executive and a building contractor for two houses at a contract sum of Kshs.148, 526,625. The construction commenced on 28th March 2019 and was expected to run for 78 weeks with an expected completion date of 28th September 2020.
On 25th May 2019 (two months into the project) the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) issued a circular setting cost limits for the construction of the houses for Governors at Ksh. 45,000,000 and Deputy Governors at Ksh.35, 000,000. The contract entered into, therefore, exceeded the set limit of Ksh.80, 000,000 by an amount of Kshs.68, 526,625 or approximately 86% of the approved ceiling.
In addition, information available indicates that through a letter dated 20th August 2020 to the Chief Officer, of the Department of Physical Planning and Housing, the contractor requested an extension of the contract period by 32 weeks due to delayed payments and the effect of Covid-19 pandemic which slowed down work which was granted through a letter dated 24th March 2021.
The contract extension granted was for one year from 26th February 2021 to 26th February 2022 (fifty-two weeks) which was twenty weeks above the duration requested by the contractor. However, there was no effective contract in place from 28th September 2020 to 26th February 2021 although the Management made payments amounting to Ksh. 20,996,811. As of March 2022, the contract period had lapsed but the two houses were yet to be completed. In these circumstances, the executive is in breach of the law and there is the risk of loss of public funds through cost escalation and penalties due to delays.
Sources also reveal irregular funding of Members of the County Assembly to the tune of Ksh. 4,903,900 that was spent on the per diem on various occasions to perform various duties including interrogation of the County budget. It was not clear why the MCAs were facilitated by the County Executive to perform their official duties and yet the expenditure is budgeted for by the County Assembly.
