Contractors blamed for ‘stalled’ projects in Uasin Gishu

A number of projects especially related to the construction of health facilities in the county have been a subject of audit queries raised by the Auditor General with concerns that they were faced with contract termination, leading to them taking longer to be completed.

But when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget, Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago noted that under the current procurement laws and regulations, companies and contractors with the lowest bid have the highest chances of securing the tenders, irrespective of their ability to deliver.

“We’re a county that pays contractors and the only challenge is underquoting. These are projects in initial term and most contactors were rushing to get jobs and midway realized they won’t make money end up running away leaving us with no option but to terminate the contracts,” the county boss said.

He, however, said no public funds were lost as a result of the contracts being terminated as per the agreements, a terminated contract is evaluated and the contractor paid for the work done.

“One case is in court for Moiben sub-county hospital and we have never settled any case outside court as we always have a clear MoU in place,” Mandago said.

He further expressed optimism that construction works for Ziwa Level 5 hospital will be completed early in 2022 as expected.