By The Weekly Vision
A report by the Auditor General has revealed how the Baringo County Assembly made irregular payments to a contractor for the proposed extension of offices for the County Assembly of Baringo. The contract for the proposed extension of County Assembly offices was awarded to a firm at a contract price of Ksh. 40m. However, the contractor was paid a total sum of Ksh. 45,781,997 resulting in an overpayment of Ksh. 5,781,997.
Further, project verification carried out in the month of October 2021 revealed that the works were not complete and the project was behind schedule by 6 years despite the entire contract sum having been paid. In the circumstances, the regularity of the construction of buildings expenditure amounting to Ksh. 4,515,463 cannot be confirmed. Further, the Assembly did not receive value for money amounting to Sh45, 781,997 expended on the project. The Assembly also made an Irregular Payment of Ksh. 8,088,828 for the construction of a public gallery. Investigations however reveal that the contract for the construction of a public gallery was awarded to a firm at a contract price of Ksh. 26,811,973 with estimated completion date of 13th March, 2020.
However, the contractor had been paid a total of Ksh. 33,514,383 in 2022 resulting in an overpayment of Ksh. 6,702,410. It was further noted that the project was still incomplete about 12 months after the lapse of the agreed completion date. Further, the provisional sum amounting to Ksh.2m was utilized without the approval of the Clerk of the County Assembly based on the recommendation of the evaluation committee. In the circumstances, the regularity of the construction of buildings expenditure amounting to Ksh. 8,088,828 could not be confirmed. Further, the Assembly did not receive value for money.
